Somewhere In This World
by xXKiri-chanXx
Summary: The only other interesting fact was about the girl," the lighter Zetsu said. "She's an Uchiha." Uchiha? "Leave," Leader said to Zetsu. "Hai." A man appeared in the shadows. "Well?" "There's an Uchiha in my country. And she brought friends."
1. Enter Kari Uchiha

Disclaimer: yeah. . . um. . . I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. . . Just Kari and any other OCs I might throw in. . .

* * *

You tapped your foot impatiently on the ground, once again glancing at the sun, then back to the slightly opened window that was many feet above your head. After listening for a few more seconds, and hearing no sound coming from the window, you sighed and then closed your eyes. When they opened again, the onyx black orbs were as cold as a lump of coal, and they glared dangerously at the window. You took a deep breath before all hell broke loose.

"NARUTOOOOOOO!" you shouted loudly. "GET UP! WE'RE GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

You immediately heard a _thump_ and someone cursing under their breath before scrambling around the room, possibly looking for clothes, breakfast, and the shower all at once.

You blew a few stray strands of ebony hair out of your face and stuck your nose up in the air in a huff.

~I honestly don't understand why we must go through this routine almost every morning~

You sighed and continued your impatient tapping of your right foot as you placed your hands on your hips.

You heard a slam and finally saw a blur of orange and yellow before it came into focus in front of your face.

The boy standing in front of you had blonde, messy hair that stuck up everywhere and sky blue eyes that at the moment were looking at you in an apologetic fashion. The boy had scars on the sides of his face that looked similar to whiskers, and he wore a bright orange jumpsuit with some blue and white to tone it down. Green goggles were being fastened around the boy's forehead as he chuckled out his greeting nervously.

"Ha ha good morning, Kari-chan," the boy said.

You sighed and began to walk in the direction of the ninja academy as the boy, Naruto, followed.

* * *

As you walked down one of the busier streets that day, you called out to shoppers and the shopkeepers alike, Naruto waving along with you.

Once you caught a glimpse of yourself in the reflection of a glass window. Your clothes consisted of a silver cami with your clan's symbol around the belly button area and a red jacket with a white stripe on each sleeve and white trim on the sleeves and cropped bottom. You wore black ninja pants that reached just below your knees and matched your ninja shoes in color. You wore fishnet on your arms that went from the bottom of your shoulder down to your elbow and around your neck you wore a vermilion stone dangling on a thin black cord. Your ebony hair reached down past your shoulders and was parted so that your bangs were always falling over your right eye.

You smiled and continued walking with Naruto on your way to the ninja academy.

You and Naruto sat together during lunchtime that day at the lone swing hanging from a tree that grew in the farthest corner of the school grounds.

You had always done this, ever since you walked up to the orange-clad dreamer and told him that you would be his friend.

"Hey, Kari-chan," Naruto whispered to you in between bites of his rice cake.

"What is it?" you asked.

Naruto smiled mischievously and continued to talk in low tones.

"So day after tomorrow is graduation exams, right?"

You nodded.

Naruto's grin widened.

"All right then. Kari, I don't want you to come to my house tomorrow. You might get in trouble," Naruto whispered.

You sighed.

"Naruto I want you to pass these exams with me . . . Please Naruto-kun."

He shook his head and finished his rice cake.

You blew at the hair that was falling in your face before finishing your own rice cake.

~Must you pull so many pranks Naruto-kun? ~

* * *

The next day you walked to school without your best friend by your side. When you reached the schoolyard, you saw the usual crowd around your twin brother and smirked.

Sasuke hated attention. Especially fan girls.

As you walked by the crowd of drooling girls, you glanced at Sasuke.

Your eyes met and you winked at him. He rolled his eyes at your childishness and went back to ignoring everyone around him.

You laughed and walked into the classroom and took your usual spot by the window on the far side of the room, third row back.

As the rest of the room filled up, you gazed out the window using your chakra-enhanced eyes to find Naruto.

You stopped your search when Iruka came into the classroom and took role call.

He started the lesson hesitantly, slightly worried about the fact that the prankster wasn't in class yet. You tuned him out, having already memorized anything you would need to know for the exams.

You snapped out of your day dreaming when a Chunin burst into the room and ran up to Iruka to whisper something in his ear.

Iruka-sensei then bolted out the door muttering something about "Naruto" and "trouble" and "Hokage" and you looked toward the Hokage Stone Faces and held in your laughter.

Naruto had painted graffiti all over the Stone Faces.

And there was even a large crowd below him. Just _watching_ him.

You sighed.

Leave it to Naruto to start the day off with trouble.

* * *

Not even five minutes later, Iruka came in with a tied up Naruto shouting out that thanks to him, they would _all_ review the Transformation Jutsu.

Everyone sighed and went through the line, executing the jutsu perfectly.

When Naruto's turn came, you turned away.

Sure enough, seconds later you heard Iruka shouting about stupid skills and perverted jutsu.

~When will you learn Naruto-kun?~

* * *

Ok I hope you like this XD so far Naruto and Kari are just friends and this first chapter was just an intro chapter so no flames pretty please XD although I do accept constructive criticism, ideas, and stuff :D thanks you much! Bye bye!

~Kiri-chan


	2. Dicovering the Fan

Ok so I am super excited to get this next chapter out so please rate and review XD

Sorry the last chapter wasn't too interesting . . . it was only an intro chapter mostly . . .hopefully this one will get a little better XD Peace! ~Kiri-chan

* * *

You slammed the door and ran out of the house.

It was later that day and you had gone home because Naruto had to go clean the mess on the Hokage Stone Faces.

You were now regretting your decision as you ran as fast and as far as you could from your home.

Why didn't Sasuke understand? Why did he have to be such a . . . a . . .

"Aaaauuuuurrrgggggggghhhhhhh!" you screamed loudly.

~Stupid emo hormones~ you cursed.

Sasuke and his "avenger" attitude were getting on your last nerve. Just because he was spared on the night of the massacre-

~Stop it right there. Don't even think about that night. You'll start to think about _him _again . . . ~

You didn't even know where you were going until you heard the soothing sound of running water.

~Nakano River? . . . That means . . .~

You stopped at the river and turned to your left. Taking a few steps in that direction, you ducked under a few low tree branches and stepped into the small clearing.

In the clearing was a temple. It was tan in color with red tiles on roof and a single brown door with extravagant carvings all over it. Red pillars helped hold up the roof that hung over the stairs that led to the door.

"The Uchiha's Nakano Shrine," you muttered to yourself as you stepped up to the door.

The carving on the door was a perfect view of the oasis in your backyard in the Uchiha compound. You stroked the picture lightly with your fingers and smiled as your hand reached for the door and opened it slowly.

You used to always come here. Mostly to just hear the sound of the river rushing, but sometimes when your father angered you, you would run to this shrine and sit on one of the tatami mats and meditate. Itachi would usually be right behind you, ready to calm you down and to cheer you up.

You shook your head trying to get rid of those thoughts as you walked inside.

The inside of the shrine was an ordinary place; jade green tatami mats covered the floors, and the walls were white. The shrine in the front of the room was extremely decorative though. It was a stone fountain that water spilled out of into the stone basin below, draining back to the river. Intricate designs covered the basin and the fountain, and the mirrors behind and on either side of the fountain reflected the light onto the water creating many different rainbows.

You smiled at the sight as you continued into the room.

You saw something out of the corner of your eye and stopped. You turned to your right to see a tatami mat out of place. It was the seventh one on the far right side, so you kept walking forward. When you reached it, you were about to put it back into place when yet another thing caught your eye.

A metal hinge was attached to the wooden floor below.

You stood, gaping at the piece of metallurgy before completely removing the mat.

~A trapdoor? . . . What the . . .~

Your black orbs stared at the trapdoor before you reached down to grab at the handle. You yanked the door open and saw a dark staircase winding downward.

You gulped and started walking down the steps slowly.

With each step you took, one thought resounded over and over again in your head.

~I think I found the Uchiha's secret meeting place~

* * *

You finally began to see a faint glow ahead, and you quickened your pace.

You entered a room at the bottom of the stairs and looked around.

A table sat against the far wall with some sort of blanket covering it. On either side of the table was a torch lit with fire, giving the room a warm but eerie glow. On the far wall it seemed a tablet was hung and on either side of that was an uchiwa the Uchiha clan's symbol.

You approached the wall and went to stand in front of the uchiwa fan on the right side. You tilted your head to the side as you examined it. There were small grooves around the outside of the fan and you raised your hand to feel them. You them pushed a little bit to see if the fan would go into the wall. It did. Completely puzzled now, you pushed harder. When the fan would not go any farther, you removed your hand and waited. Seconds later, the floor beneath your feet started to sink. You jumped back and watched as the floor sank a little more before sliding back under the rest of the floor.

When it felt safe enough to get closer, you leaned over the hole to see a box. Reaching in, your hands grabbed the sides and pulled up. It was a large box, from your left shoulder down to your right hand's fingertips in length. You set it down with a _thump_ and a huff.

Upon opening the box, you saw many scrolls in it and you immediately started digging through. Your hands touched something soft, and wrapping your hands around it, you pulled.

It was a black bag about the same length as the box itself with a picture upon the bag. You looked closer at the icon and saw that it was an uchiwa fan with a tongue of fire in the middle.

~Interesting~ you thought as you pulled open the drawstring.

When you reached in, several things happened at once. Just as your hand touched something, your hand burned along with your stomach and you thought you heard someone laughing, but not of joy. You dropped the bag and raised your hand to your stomach in an attempt to cool the burn as your eyes scanned the room.

You were alone, but you could have sworn you heard an evil laugh just as you touched the thing in the bag.

You lifted your shirt to reveal your stomach and you were shocked to see a tattoo there. When you looked closer, you saw it was the same tongue of fire that was on the bag minus the uchiwa fan. The base of the black fire curled around your belly button before rising up into the actual flame.

When you finally tore your gaze away from the tattoo, you looked at your hand to make sure nothing new had appeared there as well. When you were sure that the only thing that had happened was you gaining a new tattoo, you cautiously reached back into the bag and touched whatever was in there.

~That's weird. When I touched it before it was hot, now it's freezing . . . ~

You wrapped your hand around the end and pulled it out, laying it on your lap.

"It looks like a tessen," you said aloud.

You picked it up and, finding that it wasn't as heavy as you thought, you stood and opened the fan.

"Wow," you whispered as you stared at the battle fan in your hand.

It was black, as black as your eyes and hair, with the Uchiha symbol in the middle. On either side of the uchiwa were tongues of fire, seemingly burning bright with orange and red and yellow hues.

"Now why would the Uchiha elders hide a weapon like this?" you muttered to yourself.

You set the fan aside in its bag and picked up a scroll.

* * *

Kiri- Well it looks like things are finally getting interesting. XD rate and review and I'll do my best to update faster XD

If you have any questions about anything don't be afraid to ask. I know sometimes I'll throw in some random Japanese word that'll confuse you and I'll try not to do it too much but I will usually put a definition at the end. . . Like this:

Tatami mat- traditional type of Japanese flooring; made of woven straw

Uchiwa- large iron fan; similar to the Uchiha clan's symbol

Tessen- folding fan with outer spokes made of iron which were designed to look like a normal, harmless folding fan or a solid club shaped to look like a closed fan


	3. Team Akira

Just a warning. . . There are some POV switcheroos in here. . . Just to give you a perspective of what other people think of Kari and her brother and Naruto. . . ;) OK thanks! Rate and Review pretty please!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its plot line or characters. . . Just Kari and some OCs I might throw in ;) ;)

* * *

You pushed the tatami mat back into place then walked out of the shrine. As you walked away, you thought about the unread scrolls in your pouch, and the scrolls that you did read.

You learned that the fan used to belong to the highest-ranked woman in the Uchiha clan and its full potential power was kept a secret from the men. Once a female was born into the clan, the fan's owner would take it to the baby girl to see if she would be the new tessen. If the child was the new tessen, a mark in the form of a tongue of fire would appear on her stomach.

Again you lifted your shirt to see your own mark remembering the burning sensation and the evil laughter.

You had read into the history of the fan, too. Only a few women were able to wield this fan. The ritual of passing the fan on stopped when the men started to talk of things like a rebellion. Fifty years ago, the fan's owner and some other previous owners took the fan to the Nakano Shrine, and hid it where you had found it. This is the reason you did not have the mark before you found the fan.

Your walking slowed as you neared home. You paused and sensed Sasuke's chakra in his room getting ready to leave. You suddenly sprinted to your room and hid the scrolls under one of the floorboards. You waited until you saw your brother's shadow pass by your door, signaling that he was going to train, before you took out the scrolls and finished reading them.

* * *

You stood in front of Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei the next day in a vacant room in the Academy building. The two Chunin were sitting at a table as you stood in front of them.

"All right, Kiri, all you have to do is Clone Jutsu. Make three perfect clones of yourself and you get this hitai-ate and the title of Genin," Iruka said.

~Piece of cake~

"Ok then, Clone Jutsu!" you said making a hand sign.

A plume of smoke appeared and quickly faded revealing three perfect clones of you.

"Excellent, Kari! You pass! Here's your headband," Iruka said holding out the hitai-ate.

As you wrapped your fingers around it, both senseis smiled and congratulated you.

You bowed in thanks after tying the hitai-ate around your waist and raced outside to find Naruto.

You saw him sitting in the lone swing in the far corner of the schoolyard. You pushed between two gossiping moms and ran over to him.

"Naruto-kun!"

He looked up as you came to a stop in front of him.

"Hey, Kari-chan," Naruto said quietly.

"How- how'd you do?" you asked afraid of the answer.

Naruto looked back down, suddenly fascinated with the earth beneath his feet.

"I- I failed." His voice broke.

Your heart fell and you reached out to comfort him.

"Naruto-kun . . ."

~Naruto . . . Your dreams. . .~

You opened your mouth to say something else when you heard a rustle of leaves from over head.

You turned your head toward the noise to see Mizuki-sensei crouched on a branch. You relaxed as Mizuki smiled and waved.

"Kari, would you mind if I borrowed Naruto for a minute?"

You turned to look at Naruto and you were surprised to see he was already standing up.

"Later, Kari-chan," he muttered as he jumped off with the Chunin.

You turned your gaze to the swing that was swaying gently in the breeze before walking home. You ate supper in your room and went to bed immediately afterwards.

* * *

The next day in the Hokage's room, Jonin were gathered around his crystal ball. At the moment, it had Sasuke's face on it.

"Most promising new student, Sasuke Uchiha. Is that him?" asked a Jonin.

"Yes. That's the one." the Hokage replied.

"He and his sister are the only survivors left from the Uchiha clan," a woman added.

"Yes, that's right." the Hokage answered. "And she is right up there with Sasuke when it comes to just about anything." he added.

* * *

You walked to the Academy to get your team placement. You sighed.

~Without Naruto, none of this is going to be any fun at all~ you thought gloomily.

When you reached the door, you heard a commotion inside. You slid open the door and saw it was the fan girls fighting over Sasuke. Again. Then . . . you saw Naruto.

He was sitting on the desk in front of Sasuke glaring at him.

"Naruto! Stop glaring at Sasuke!" yelled a pink haired fan girl you recognized as Sakura Haruno. You saw Naruto turn to look at her and then turn back to Sasuke.

~Nothing good is going to come from this~ you thought walking into the room. You saw it in slow motion. A kid bumped Naruto (who was pretty close to Sasuke's face) pushing Naruto's and Sasuke's lips together. You started laughing while all the fan girls' eyes opened in shock. Naruto and Sasuke separated and started gagging.

"Naruto. You're going to pay!" said Sakura as she cracked her knuckles. You decided it was time to intervene. You jumped in front of Naruto.

"Let's settle this in a civilized fashion, shall we?" you said cracking your own knuckles and your neck as well.

* * *

The ball now showed your own face. "Kari Uchiha." the Hokage stated.

"It looks like she's the only one that gets along with that Naruto kid," a Jonin said.

"Yes . . . Too bad she helps him get into trouble rather than stopping him."

* * *

"So Naruto. How'd you end up here?" you asked curiously as the fan girls walked away, disgruntled that you stood between them and Naruto.

"I'll tell you the whole story later. It's kinda long," he said smiling and scratching the back of his head.

"Ok," you said sitting next to your brother. Naruto sat down on your other side.

Iruka walked into the room. He informed the students that they were Genin, and saying that although they worked hard to get here, they were going to have to work harder to move on. Then something he said caught your attention.

"All the Genin will be grouped in three man squads led by a Jonin." You looked over to Naruto and smiled. He returned the gesture but turned to stare at his crush, Sakura. You sighed. He was such a lovesick puppy. Iruka continued.

"Each squad will have a balance of strengths and abilities. That's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads."

"Squad 7: Naruto Uzumaki . . . "

You watched Naruto raise his head as he heard his name.

" . . . Sakura Haruno . . . "

You almost laughed aloud as you saw Naruto jump into the air and shout out, "Yeah!" You turned to see Sakura's face on the desk and hear her mutter, "I'm doomed!"

" . . . And Sasuke Uchiha."

Your mouth dropped open and you slapped your hand over it to stop from laughing out loud. You saw Sakura and Naruto trade positions as Sakura jumped up and shouted, "Ahhh haaa!" and Naruto slouched and grumbled, "I'm doomed!"

Although you thought the whole thing was comical, you wished that it were you and not Sakura who would be on Naruto's team.

"That's all the squads." Iruka said rolling up the scroll.

"Iruka-sensei! You never called my name!" you protested, standing up.

"Hmm? Oh . . . That's right . . . Kari, Lord Hokage wants to see you in his office. He'll explain everything there," Iruka said.

" . . . Right . . . " you muttered. As you walked off, you heard Naruto's voice whisper so only you could hear,"Ramen at 7, your treat!"

You looked over your shoulder and flashed a smile and a wink. Naruto smiled back, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair. Just as you left the room, you heard him complaining to Iruka about being stuck on the same squad as Sasuke. You smiled and shook your head as you transported to the Hokage's office.

~Good old Naruto! ~

* * *

You knocked on the door to the Hokage's office.

"Kari, come in."

You entered the room and after bowing your head respectfully you smirked playfully.

"How do you always know its me, Lord Hokage?"

The old man chuckled. "I am Hokage for a reason, Kari. Have a seat."

You sighed in mock disappointment at his lack of an answer as you sat across from him.

"I'm sure you're here for a reason, other than how I know who knocks on my office door . . . Am I correct?" he asked turning somber.

You nodded as your smile turned into a small frown.

"Why don't I have a squad?"

The Hokage sighed and walked toward the window.

"One of the teams from last year's graduating class was sent on an escort mission. They had to escort the client to his village in the Land of Lightning. As you know, our village does not get along well with the Village Hidden in the Clouds. The team had much potential, and the mission was C-rank. Halfway through the mission, Cloud ninja attacked the group, which raised the mission level to A-rank. The squad still completed the mission superbly."

He paused and glanced back at you, before returning his eyes to the window.

You were confused, so you ran the story through your head again. It didn't have anything to do with you not having a squad. You were about to say so when the Hokage cut you off.

"That's not how it ended though. The client had a great dislike for one of the Genin's family. He was pleased to hear that the youngest member of their clan was going on the mission. When the mission was completed, the client picked up a stray kunai left over from the fight and threw it at the boy. The Jonin and the Genin were in total shock, and could only watch as the kunai sped toward its target. But the female Genin jumped in the path of the kunai, and just before it hit her, she threw her own kunai and killed the man rather than using it to deflect the one coming for her. The man died knowing his kunai never hit its target, the girl died knowing she had hit hers and had saved her friend."

You listened to the entire story in awe of the bravery of the girl. You raised your hand to your face and you were surprised to find that you were crying. You quickly wiped the tears away before the Hokage could see. You were silent for a few more seconds.

"You want me to fill her spot on the team, don't you, Lord Hokage?"

"Yes. I thought you had the right to know the whole story. Her parents and former teammates agreed it was for the best that you knew. It only seems fair, after all . . . " he trailed off.

"You will go on missions with this team, but if it is high level, I will tell you if you go or if you stay here and train with another team until they return. Understood?"

"Yes," you answered. You knew he would keep you back from high level missions so the other rookie Genin would not be jealous and demand higher level missions.

"Well then, do you want to meet your new team?" he asked turning around to face you.

"Yes," you answered again as you stood.

"Very well. Enter, Team Akira!"

You heard the door open and three pairs of feet walk in. After the footsteps stopped you turned around.

* * *

"Very well. Enter, Team Akira!"

Akira looked at his squad and nodded. Kozu and Shiori opened the doors and walked in with their sensei between them. They saw the Hokage and the back of a girl. She had long black hair that went down to mid-back. She wore a red crop jacket with short sleeves and white stripes and a silver cami underneath covering her stomach and lower back. She wore black ninja pants that went just below the knees, and her headband was wrapped around her waist. The boys could also see she wore fishnet from her elbows up to maybe her shoulders.

She turned around slowly and the boys noticed her onyx eyes and the Uchiha symbol on the cami. Shiori glanced at his friend and smirked while the girl studied their sensei.

* * *

You turned to see three ninja. You looked at the Jonin who you assumed to be Akira. He had messy brown hair and green eyes. He was fairly tall and wore the standard Jonin attire: a blue long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up under a green Jonin vest and blue ninja pants and shoes. His headband was tied around his head.

You turned your gaze to the boy on the Jonin's right. He had dark blonde hair that was pulled back in a low, short and spiky ponytail, and his eyes were a chocolate brown. He wore a green shirt that had fishnet sleeves going down to his elbows with blue ninja pants and shoes. His headband was wrapped around his left arm. In the middle of his shirt were two black rings that were intertwined and there was a silver earring in his left ear.

On the Jonin's left was another boy. He had dark red hair and gray, stormy eyes. His hair was messy and he had a silver earring in his right ear. He wore a sleeveless brown hoodie over a long sleeve fishnet shirt and black ninja pants. He wore his headband around his forehead and he wore black ninja shoes.

"Team Akira. This is Kari Uchiha," the Hokage said.

The Jonin stepped forward. "My name is Akira Shuujuku. I will be your sensei," he said.

The boy you first looked at stepped forward, too. "I'm Shiori Mekikei," he said raising his hand.

The last boy also took a step forward. "And I'm Kozu Sentou," he said, nodding in your direction.

You smiled. "My name is Kari Uchiha." You paused and looked all three in the eye. "Looks like we got ourselves a squad!"

"Very well then," the Hokage said. "Kari, go with your squad and get to know them. I don't think you want to be late."

You turned to see the Hokage standing right behind you. He had a smile on his face and a familiar twinkle in his eye.

"Lord Hokage! You've been spying on me and Naruto again!" you accused as you remembered that you had ramen with Naruto that night.

"Now, now, I was only keeping an eye on the classroom. I didn't know Naruto could be so quiet," he chuckled.

You sighed.

"Well then, let's go shall we?" Akira asked.

"Yeah," you said while the two boys nodded their heads.

The four of you disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

"All right. Let's test your skills, Kari," Akira said turning to you. You noticed that you were in a training area.

"Who do you want to fight first?"

"Fight? I thought squads were put together for teamwork," you said.

"That's true. But we just want to see what you can do and what skills you have," Akira replied.

"Oh, ok." You looked at Shiori and Kozu who were smirking at you. You remembered seeing the kanji for strength on the back of Kozu's hoodie.

~Let's see how strong he really is~

"Kozu," you said.

"Ok. Kozu and Kari. Get ready to fight," Akira said. He and Shiori moved out of the way.

"Ready to get your butt kicked?" asked the red head, his gray eyes glinting with excitement.

"We'll see about that," you replied. You reached your hand back to your fan.

~I'll only use it if I have to~

* * *

All right! My first battle scene is in the next chapter! Woot! XD Sorry this one got a little long and wordy. . . The next one should be better. . . XD Well tell me what you think! Rate and review pleasies!!

~Kiri-chan


	4. The Battles

Ok! Chapter 4 is out! Woot! Just to give you an idea of Kari, Kozu, and Shiori's abilities ^_^ and I hope I showed how Kari kinda has a crush on Naruto near the end. . . let me know what you think! Review and Rate!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the plot line, only Kari and the other OCs I might throw in.

* * *

You studied your opponent carefully. He crouched into his battle stance. You noticed that he did not crouch very low, but he set his feet firmly in the ground.

~For defense? No. . . Not Taijutsu either . . . Earth style jutsu? Possibly . . . ~

You and Kozu stared each other down. You frowned, trying to figure out his fighting style before the first move. He smirked.

~I guess I'll start out on the defensive~

You lowered into your own stance, lower than Kozu, planting your feet firmly in the ground.

"Let's go!" he shouted. He made quick hand signs before shouting out, "Earth Clone Jutsu!"

You saw earth come up from the ground and form Kozu look-a-likes.

~ . . . Earth style it is, then~

You watched as Kozu and his clones surrounded you, leaving no escape, and not much room for combat.

"Too easy!" you teased as you grabbed two handfuls of kunai.

You jumped into the air and in the process turned upside down while using your momentum to continually rotate. You pulled your arms close to you in an x shape, your hands close to your face. You then let free both arms, and released the kunai in your left hand one by one. You did the same with your right, but you left two kunai in your hand. You quickly passed one kunai over to your left hand behind your back and threw them. You landed gracefully and watched the kunai.

Four of the kunai went directly to their targets. The two you had released late hit the remaining two kunai, sending all four to their targets as well.

You smirked. In one move, you had eliminated all of Kozu's clones.

You were suddenly kicked in the back. You flew forward, landing and skidding on the ground beneath you.

"Nice moves, Kari. But I expected better from an Uchiha," Kozu taunted.

He started walking toward your limp form on the ground, wiping his hands as if they were dirty. He stopped in total shock and confusion as you disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a log took your place.

"No way! A substitution jutsu!"

"How's that for Uchiha talent, Kozu?" you asked as you pulled a kunai out and placed it against his neck.

"How did you-" Kozu started.

"I knew you would try a sneak attack, so I used a substitution jutsu as soon as I landed from my kunai attack. I hid behind a tree until you saw the log. Pretty good, huh, Kozu?" you said victoriously.

"Yeah. I'll admit, you're better than I thought. But I'm even better than you!" He said loudly.

You released him and jumped back to avoid being elbowed in the gut. You saw him disappear and then reappear several feet away.

Kozu rapidly moved his hands.

"Earth Style: Great Mud River!"

Too late you realized the ground beneath your feet had turned to mud. You were soon pushed away by the mud river. As the jutsu faded, you stood and performed your own barrage of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

You inhaled then exhaled causing a large ball of fire to fly towards Kozu. As soon as you finished the jutsu, you ran straight toward him. Kozu jumped back to dodge the fireball. When he landed, he looked up and saw you right in front of him pulling back your arm for a punch. He closed his eyes.

The punch never came. Akira stood in front of Kozu with one hand on your fist.

"Amazing battle, you two. I think we can stop here, otherwise it'll go on forever," he said smiling at you. He let go of your hand as you stood straight and dropped your hands to your sides.

"Awesome jutsu, Kari. No hard feelings, right?" Kozu asked as Akira stepped aside. You looked down to see his hand held out.

You smiled and shook his hand.

"Of course not. You had some nice jutsu, too," you said happily.

"Thanks. Where did you learn that kunai thing? That was so cool! Can you teach it to me?" he asked.

You stiffened slightly and let go of his hand. You took a deep breath and put a fake smile on.

"No way! That's my thing, Kozu-kun!" you said.

Kozu looked confused at your stiffness turned playful teasing, but a little happy that you had called him Kozu-kun.

Akira broke the silence.

"All right, Kari. Now you fight Shiori."

You turned to your sensei, your face showing only confusion, all tension gone.

"But, Sensei. My chakra's a little low-"

"I have a food pill if you need it," he said. He held out his hand. You saw the small brown pill and sighed.

Shiori had most likely been watching your movements during that battle. He now had the upper hand. He knew your jutsu element and fighting style.

~Come on, Kari. You can do this. You've trained hours on end with him. Surely you can fight two guys in one day~

You reached your hand out to Akira's and grabbed the pill from his hand. You brought it up to your mouth and swallowed it.

"Let's go, Shiori-kun," you called to your other teammate.

He smiled and walked over as Kozu and Akira-sensei moved aside.

You watched Shiori as you had watched Kozu. You were mildly surprised that he didn't lower into a stance. He was standing straight, his hands down by his side. You noticed that his eyes were intently watching your own. You frowned.

~This guy . . . He's way different than Kozu . . .~

You felt the food pill kick in as chakra surged through your body once more.

You smiled.

~Bring it on~

As if reading your thoughts, Shiori jumped back and made a hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

You saw three clones appear and run toward you.

You pulled out three kunai and threw them toward the clones. They each disappeared as the kunai hit. You expected to see Shiori a few feet away, but you didn't.

You looked around.

~Where is he? ~

Behind you a tree started growing at an unusually fast rate. It's trunk wrapped around your legs, arms, and torso, stopping you from moving. You looked up and saw Shiori emerging from the tree with a kunai in his hand. He pressed it to your neck and said, "Tree Capture Death!"

You chuckled softly.

"I'm an Uchiha, Shiori-kun. Genjutsu doesn't affect me, with or without the Sharingan."

The Genjutsu broke and you saw that Shiori had been hidden several feet in front of you. Neither of you had left your positions.

"You're lying. At least partly," he said.

Your eyes widened.

~How did he know? ~

He was right. Genjutsu does affect you, but you had trained so that you could spot it almost instantly, giving the appearance that it didn't affect you. In actuality, it affected you, but not as severely as others.

He smiled.

"I'm right, aren't I? I can tell by your eyes," he said.

Your face showed total confusion.

~My . . .My eyes? ~

"Here I come!" he said running in your direction.

You were jerked back into reality and you barely dodged his attack.

~Pull yourself together, Kari! He can still hurt you! ~

It was when you landed that you noticed.

Shiori's hands were glowing with green chakra.

~A medic-nin?!~

You grimaced. It was a good thing you dodged that last attack. If he had hit you with his hand, you could have been paralyzed or seriously injured, depending on his skill level.

~Taijutsu is out. I can't fight him up close while he can use that medical jutsu. Genjutsu is also out. If he can tell that I'm lying just by looking at my eyes, he can also spot a Genjutsu. I guess that leaves Ninjutsu . . . Which means . . .~

You reached your hand to your back and grabbed your fan. You pulled it out and brought it in front of you.

As you snapped it open with your right hand and pulled it toward your left shoulder, you said, "Fire Style: Flaming Fan Jutsu!"

Fire appeared at the top of the open fan. You saw Shiori take a step back.

~I suppose I do look a little menacing holding a fan that's on fire . . . heh~

"Here we go!"

You swung the fan across your body, sending flames straight toward your opponent. The second you finished that attack, you ran straight toward Shiori.

Shiori kept his eyes on the flames as he jumped back to dodge. Suddenly he saw you jump through the dying fire and use your closed fan as a club.

You swung the fan sideways, knocking Shiori off his feet.

"That's the same thing I did to Kozu. How could you fall for that, Shiori-kun?" you asked tauntingly as you walked toward his languid body.

"I didn't."

You turned to the voice behind you to see Shiori ready to punch you. You heard a pop from the substitution jutsu he had used to evade your attack. You put your arms up to shield yourself.

Once again, the punch didn't come.

"Nicely done, you two," Akira-sensei complimented. You saw that this time he had a hold on Shiori's fist.

"Thanks, Sensei," the two of you replied.

Shiori put his hands by his side as Akira-sensei let go of his fist.

"Thank you for cooperating, Kari," he said turning to you.

You nodded.

"No problem. I had fun," you said smiling. You turned to Shiori.

"Shiori-kun, I think you beat me," you said holding out your hand.

He smiled and shook it.

"Of course I did. I never lose," he teased.

"Don't make me take it back!" you warned.

"Sorry. You did pretty good yourself, Kari-chan," he said.

"Thanks."

"All right. The three of you meet back here tomorrow morning. Seven o'clock sharp. Got it?"

"Yes, sensei," you replied.

"Hai," you heard Kozu and Shiori say.

Something clicked in your head.

"What time is it?" you asked.

"Your battles took up quite a bit of time. I'd say its almost seven, now," Akira mused.

"Oh my gosh! I'm gonna be late! See you guys tomorrow!" you yelled as you took off running.

The three boys sweat dropped as they watched you speed off.

"Busy girl, huh, Sensei?" Kozu asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"I guess . . ." the sensei trailed off.

"Hn," Shiori said smirking.

* * *

You made it to Ichiraku just in time to see Naruto walking in.

You followed.

"Hey, Naruto!" you said as you sat next to him.

"Hey, Kari-chan!" he replied. You saw him smile his usual goofy smile.

"Naruto, Kari, what can we get you? The usual?" Teuchi asked.

"Yes, please," you replied.

"Ok. Coming right up!"

"So how was getting to know your squad?" you asked casually.

"Well, we have this sensei who was like really late. It was so annoying! And Sasuke's the weirdo I always thought he was. No offense," he said smiling and scratching the back of his head.

"None taken. Go on," you said vaguely.

"Anyway, Sakura kept blushing and watching Sasuke the whole time and she said she hates me!" Naruto said frowning.

"Did she really, now? Naruto. I seriously think you should forget her. She's just like almost all the other girls in town. Sasuke-crazy," you stated bluntly.

"Aw she'll warm up to me. We're on the same squad now after all," he said.

"Miso ramen and chicken ramen. Here you go, Naruto, Kari."

"Thanks, Teuchi!" you and Naruto said.

You both grabbed your chopsticks and broke them open. Naruto started shoving down his ramen. You sighed.

~Always so hungry . . .~

You slowly started to eat yours.

"Hey. Did you get a squad, Kari-chan?"

You looked over to see Naruto's face extremely close to your own. You blushed the slightest bit.

"Uh . . . Yeah. This team who only had two Genin on it is my new team. Their names are Shiori Mekikei and Kozu Sentou. And my sensei is Akira Shuujuku. They graduated last year," you said.

"Cool. I wanna meet them. They're your teammates and you're my friend, so that makes sense, right?" he asked.

"Sure. What did you say your sensei's name was?"

"Kakashi Hatake, I think."

"Oh ok."

You sat in silence eating your ramen. You turned to see how many bowls Naruto had eaten.

"NARUTO, YOU BAKA! I'M NOT FILTHY RICH, YOU KNOW!"

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! Please don't hurt me Kari-chan! I have training tomorrow morning!"

"Naruto!"

* * *

As you walked away from Ichiraku, you looked sadly at you almost empty wallet.

"Sorry, Kari-chan. I was really hungry!" Naruto said for the hundredth time.

You brought your hand up behind his head and brought it crashing down.

"OW OW OW OW OW! Kari-chan! That HURT!" Naruto complained as he grabbed his head with both hands.

"That's for making me spend almost all of my money, baka," you mumbled.

"If you stop hitting me, I'll buy the next two times," said Naruto holding up two fingers.

You glanced over to your friend and smiled.

"Make it three and it's a done deal."

"But Kari-chan. That's a lot of- OK OK! Please don't hit me! Next three times are on me!"

You smirked as you pulled your hand back down to your side.

"Man, Kari-chan. Why do you have to hit so hard?" Naruto whined rubbing his bruised head.

You burst out laughing. Naruto watched and then joined in as the two of you walked to your house, where you would part ways.

* * *

All right! I hope you like it :) If you have any questions about Kozu and Shiori's abilities or jutsu, then review and tell me what else you think about this chapter! Pleasies! Ok, thank you and Merry Christmas!

~Kiri-chan


	5. The Truth Unfolds

Ok first off I'd like to give a little shout out to the TWO. . . that's right. . . TWO people who have reviewed for my story XD Thank you so much KiraUzumaki and KariNara for reading my story and liking it enough to review!

On another note. . . as a warning this chapter is jumpy and confusing at the end and I _apologize_. . . its not the best :( Also as a warning to those who don't like to wait. . . The question you will have on the tip of your tongues when you finish this chapter might not be answered until after Sasuke leaves for Orochimaru. . . So. . . If you don't like that. . . deal with it. . . or you can go to .com and read! I'm not telling you which chapters cause if you try and start where I tell you, you'll be extremely confused and you won't know what's going on. . . So if you really want to know about the end of this chapter. . . then your options are waiting or going to . . .Thanks and let's begin!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto blah blah blah only Kari and my OCs blah blah blah. . .

* * *

The next morning and the rest of the week, you would train with Team Akira early in the day. Then around ten o'clock, you would start on your missions. You thought the D-rank missions were boring but you worked hard nonetheless. You and the boys figured out that if you did the work quickly, you could be done for that day, and you could relax or train together.

You grew close to Kozu and Shiori. At times they reminded you of how you and your brothers used to be long before the massacre.

Friday morning after training, Akira-sensei gave you a break.

"Today we only have one mission. You three have been working so hard and so fast, you probably didn't realize that you had been working extra D-rank missions. So today I'm going to give you the day off."

"Awesome!" you said loudly.

"Sweet! Thanks, Sensei!" Kozu said.

"Yeah, thanks," you and Shiori added.

"Your only mission is to enjoy today! See you tomorrow," Akira said.

"Bye," you replied as your sensei disappeared.

"Hey, Kari. Come with us. We're gonna go get some dumplings," Shiori said.

"I love dumplings! Let's go!" you said as you followed your friends out of the training grounds.

* * *

When you entered the shop, the owner shouted out a hearty welcome. You walked up to the bar and ordered dumplings to go.

He handed you the bag of sweets, you paid and walked out the door with Kozu and Shiori at your side.

"I want to show you guys something. Come on!" you shouted running off with the boys' treats.

"Kari!"

"Come back!"

"We're hungry, Kari-chan!"

"Catch me if you can!" you teased. You ran toward the Hokage Stone Faces.

The boys followed you as you jumped up to the top of the mountain. You reached the Fourth Hokage's face and started moving to the Third, the Second, and the First. You sat down on the First's head and waited for your team to find you.

* * *

"Jeez, Kari-chan. I didn't know you could run so fast!" muttered Kozu as he walked over to where you were sitting. You giggled as you saw that his dark red hair was all over the place and Shiori, who was following Kozu, had lost his ponytail.

"You two look hilarious," you said as they sat down next to you.

"Yeah, yeah. Can we have some dumplings now?" Shiori grumbled.

"As soon as you take a look at the village from this point of view," you said pointing outward.

The boys' eyes widened as they turned the direction your fingers were pointing.

"Whoa," they said simultaneously.

They saw the colorful rooftops of even the highest buildings, the little dots that were people walking around, and the trees that were growing everywhere. In front of them was the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The trio sat there for a few minutes, drinking in the sights and sounds, the aromas of the cooking food that drifted in their direction from the village.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" you asked before eating a dumpling.

"Yeah," they boys replied. They each reached for their own skewer of dango and the three of you munched on the sweets and enjoyed the scenery.

* * *

You were on your way to the training grounds with Kozu and Shiori later in the day. Kozu was still teasing Shiori about his lost ponytail before Shiori changed the subject.

"Do you guys feel that chakra?" he said quietly.

You and Kozu focused.

"Whoa," Kozu whispered.

"Kari-chan! Hey, Kari-chan!"

"Naruto-kun!" you exclaimed as you saw your friend come into view.

"You'll never guess what happened! The old man gave us a C-ranked mission! Isn't that awesome?!?" Naruto yelled as he jumped up and down.

You smiled and put your hands on his shoulders to stop him from bouncing.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun. Its great. Have fun on your mission, ok?"

You released your hands and put them on your hips.

"You bet, Kari-chan! I'll see you in a few weeks, ok?" Naruto said as he put his hands behind his head.

"Ok," you said.

"See ya, Kari-chan!" he said as he walked off.

"Oh, Naruto!" you said. Your friend stopped and turned toward you.

"I won't forget about the ramen," you said seriously.

"Aww, Kari-chan," Naruto muttered as he walked off.

"Bye, Naruto-kun!" you said walking back to your friends.

You walked with Kozu and Shiori to the training grounds and sparred for a few hours, then walked home alone.

~Maybe I'll finish reading those scrolls. Sasuke's gone so I don't have to worry about him eavesdropping . . .~

* * *

When you got home, you changed into a plain gray tank top and short red shorts. You pulled your hair back into a ponytail and grabbed the scrolls from their hiding place. You grabbed one, rolled it open, and started to read.

Hours later, you put the scrolls away and blew out the candle you were using to light the room. After climbing into bed, you fell asleep and dreamt about the good times you used to have with Itachi and Sasuke.

* * *

The weeks passed and you and your team trained hard and performed missions excellently.

When you had free time you would dig out the scrolls and start reading. After about a week, you had finished reading all the scrolls.

~I guess I can take them back now~

You kept a few of the scrolls for future references, but packed the rest into a bag and sneaked out to the shrine where you had first found them.

As you walked down the cold, dark stairway, you felt the same shiver as you had when you had first found this place.

You sped up your pace and finally reached the bottom, and walked straight to the wall where the Uchiha emblem rested. You pressed your hand against the fan shape and pushed, then jumped back as the floor beneath you sunk and slid back. You set the bag in the hole. After waiting a few minutes, the floor slid back into place. You turned to leave when something caught your eye.

The cloth on the table, which sat against the middle of the wall, was not even.

You furrowed your brow and thought back to make sure you hadn't pulled the cloth.

You shook your head. Its not like you were going to remember every move you made. You moved towards the table and you were about to put the cloth back in its place, when you saw something else.

There was something on the table.

You tore the away the cloth and saw tablets, stone tablets with writing on them, sitting on the table.

"More Uchiha history?" you asked yourself aloud.

Then you read.

And the more you read, the more you didn't want to believe it.

And yet, deep down in your heart, you knew it was true.

You knew it was all true.

* * *

Uh oh. . . A CLIFFHANGER! And I'm not going to repeat myself so if you didn't read the memo at the beginning. . . then go back and read it please :) Again, my sincerest apologies about the crappy chapter and its jumpiness and confusingness :( I'm sorry. . . Anywayz. . . Rate and Review!

~Kiri-chan


	6. The Nightmare

Awh yeah! Two chapters in one day! Woot! Ok. . . If you have any confusion in this chapter. . . Please message me or review or something. . . PLEASE! Oh and there is POV jumping in this chapter again. . . I'll try to warn you beforehand on most chapters but if I forget, please don't bring out the flamethrowers. . . :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, its plot line or its characters, only Kari and my other OCs. . .

* * *

For the rest of the week, you kept yourself busy. You trained and hung out with your team and worked on missions. If you ever found yourself with nothing to do, you would find something as quickly as possible.

Because if you had nothing to do, your mind would wander.

And when your mind wandered, it thought about the nightmares you had been having for the past week.

The nightmares were usually you reliving the massacre.

One such night, when you were sleeping peacefully, you started to have it yet again, and it went further than before.

* * *

_You were walking around the Uchiha compound. You were pleasantly surprised to see all of your clan there as well: your mother and father, aunt and uncle, even your cousins._

_Everyone looked a little older since the last time you saw them. You realized that you were 13, and not 8 like when you last saw them. It was almost as if the massacre had never occurred._

_You were smiling and waving at your relatives, and they at you. Suddenly, you saw them all on the ground, dead with kunai in their backs._

_You turned a corner and saw your brother._

_"Itachi," you said._

_He looked to you and smiled._

_"Come, Kari. We must meet our master, now," he said reaching out his hand to grab yours._

_You were confused, but held on to your brother's hand nevertheless._

_You walked away from the place where your clan lived, and out into a forest. You and Itachi stopped in a clearing._

_"Itachi. Have you brought the Tessen girl?" a dark voice, smooth as velvet, called from the trees._

_"Yes. She is here," Itachi replied._

_You looked up to him in confusion._

_"Itachi, w-what's going on?" you asked nervously. You carefully slid your hand from his and took a step back._

_"H-how do you know about my fan?" you asked taking another step back._

_"You must fulfill your destiny, Kari. You chose your own destiny when you chose that fan," Itachi said following you as you backed away._

_"Destiny? What destiny?" you asked._

_"Kari. You must capture our pet. You must help me control it. The Nine Tailed Fox Demon belongs to us," the voice said._

_Your eyes widened as you realized whoever it was was right behind you._

_"Who are you?" you whispered as your eyes tried to glance behind you._

_"In time, young Tessen, in time. For now, you must find the Demon Fox and control it. It is your duty. It is your destiny. You have no choice," the voice said as it drifted away._

_Before the voice or Itachi could stop you, you turned around and saw the owner of the dark, smooth voice._

_A man with black hair and the red Sharingan stood there. He wore strange red armor, and his hair was long and spiky with two straight bangs, one covering his right eye, the other pushed to the left side of his face. His face held a prominent smirk that angered you for no reason._

_"Farewell for now, Kari Uchiha. We will meet again," said the man. As he disappeared, you awoke from your dream._

* * *

You sat up in your bed, breathing heavily and stared at your hands resting in your lap.

~What does all this mean? Who was that man? And how did he know about my fan? ~

You thought about what he said of the Kyuubi and of you taming it. Tears fell from your eyes and into your hands.

~No. . . I won't. Not to Naruto-kun. Never . . . ~

* * *

"Kari?"

"Hm?" you glanced up from polishing your fan to see Shiori.

"Are you ok?" he asked sitting down next to you.

You put on a fake smile and answered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

He frowned.

"Stop lying, Kari. You know I can tell when you lie. You've been acting weird all morning. What's up?" his brown eyes flashed, warning you not to lie again.

You sighed.

~Why did it have to be Shiori and his stupid eye reading?!~

"It's nothing, just some nightmares. That's all," you said avoiding eye contact with your friend.

Shiori sighed as well. You saw him put his hands behind his head and check his ponytail, a habit that he did unconsciously.

"Ok then. Well I had better get going. I promised my dad I'd help him get some stuff done today. I'll see you around," he said. Shiori got up and walked away as Kozu walked over.

You saw Kozu's gray eyes flashing in the sunlight.

"Hey, Kozu," you said.

"Hey. Listen, I came over to tell you that I won't be able to hang today either. My parents are making me help them today. Anyway, I'll see you around, ok, Kari?" he said running his hands through his messy red hair

"Ok. No problem. See you later," you said with another fake smile.

As your teammate walked away, you turned to your sensei wishing that he had some training for you.

"Sorry, Kari. Lord Hokage wants to see me. See ya later," he said.

"Bye," you said as he disappeared.

You sighed and finished cleaning your fan. You opened it and stared at the bright red flames and the uchiwa fan on the black background. You tore your gaze away and closed the fan when your thoughts drifted to the nightmare last night.

You got up from your seat and walked into town.

On your way there, you heard some commotion in an alley. You turned that way and saw two kids with their backs to you, a boy dressed in black and a girl in a white dress and a lot of fishnet. You noticed that the boy had a mummy on his back and the girl had a fan. Then you saw Naruto and Sakura with two academy students behind them. You saw the stranger boy holding the kid you knew as Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson.

~This looks like trouble~ you thought.

"Hey!" you called out.

The two strangers turned as you disappeared and reappeared in front of them.

"Don't you know it's rude to pick on little kids?" you asked.

The boy turned to face you. The second you saw his face, you focused chakra on your right index and middle fingers and poked his forehead.

The guy stumbled back a few feet, dropping Konohamaru, before falling over himself.

You took a step toward the Hokage's grandson and helped him up.

"Are you ok?" you asked as you held out your hand.

The boy took it and replied, "Yeah, thanks!" before running back to Naruto.

"Hey, Kari-chan. What are you doing here?" Naruto asked. He smiled and put his hand behind his head.

Before you could answer, you felt chakra behind you. You turned, and before you had completely rotated, you felt the chakra die down.

What you saw was the boy holding his bruised hand.

~I didn't do that . . .~

You sensed another chakra presence, a familiar one at that.

You turned your head to see your brother sitting in a tree, tossing a rock in his hand.

"You're a long way from home and you're way out of your league," he said.

"What are you doing here, Sasuke?" you asked your brother. Your hands automatically went to your hips in brother fighting mode.

"Saving your neck," Sasuke replied.

"I don't need your help," you retorted.

"Sure you don't," he replied sarcastically. "That's why that guy was about to pummel you."

"Great," the strange boy intervened. "Another wimp to tick me off."

Sasuke crushed the rock in his hand, turning it to dust.

"Get lost," he said.

"Hey, punk. Get down here," the boy said as he stared at Sasuke.

Sasuke just stared back.

"You're the kind of pesky, little snot I hate the most. All attitude and nothin' to back it up," the boy finished.

You watched him slide the mummy off of his back.

You raised an eyebrow.

~A puppet master? Interesting~

"What? Are you going to use the Crow for this?" the girl asked, her eyes wide in surprise.

His movements were stopped by a harsh voice that spoke in reprove.

"Kankuro. Back off."

You turned to where the new voice came from and saw a boy.

He was standing on the same tree as Sasuke, only on the opposite branch upside down. He had red hair, icy blue eyes and a gourd on his back.

"You're an embarrassment to our village," he continued.

Everyone's eyes opened in shock as they noticed the new arrival.

"Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?" he continued.

"Uh, I-I know. I-I mean they challenged us. They started the whole thing really," the boy named Kankuro managed to stammer. "See, here's what happened-"

"Shut up," the other boy said. He glared at Kankuro.

"Or I'll kill you."

Kankuro started to sweat and he took a step back.

"Uh, right. I was totally out of line. I'm sorry, Gaara. I was totally out of line," he stuttered.

The boy named Gaara turned his head to you and then to Sasuke saying, "I'm sorry for any trouble he caused."

~This guy . . . He's got an evil look in his eye . . .~ you thought. You glanced at Sasuke. You could tell he was thinking the same thing.

As Sasuke stood, Gaara disappeared in some sand and reappeared the same way a foot in front of you.

"Let's go. We didn't come here to play games," he said to his comrades.

"A-all right. Sure. I-I get it," Kankuro replied.

"Hold on!" Sakura said stepping forward.

"Hey!" she said as the Sand ninja kept walking.

They stopped.

"What?" the girl asked, not turning around.

"I can tell by your headband that you've come from the Village Hidden in the Sand," she said. "Of course the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another village without permission. So state your purpose, and it better be good!"

The girl and the two boys turned around.

"Really? Have you guys been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on, do you?" the girl asked.

She held up a passport.

"We have permission."

"Hm," you said as you noticed her name was Temari.

Temari continued.

"Of course, you're right. We are Hidden Sand Genin. Our home is the Land of the Wind. And we're here for the Chunin Exams. Get the picture?"

"The Chunin Exams? What's that? Well, I've never heard of any Chunin Exams. Believe it," Naruto said.

The girl laughed.

"Oh, I believe it all right, that you're totally clueless," she said.

You heard Konohamaru explain to Naruto what the Chunin Exams were.

"Oh! Well why didn't you say so? I am so there!" Naruto exclaimed.

The Sand Genin walked away. You also walked away, but in the other direction. You heard Sasuke jump down and say, "Hey, you. Identify yourself!"

"Hm? You mean me?" you heard the girl ask.

"No. Him. The guy with the gourd on his back."

You heard the boy named Gaara stop and speak.

"My name is Gaara of the Desert. I'm curious about you, too. Who are you?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha."

"And you. The girl with the black hair," Gaara continued.

You stopped walking and turned your head around before completely facing him.

You smiled.

"The name's Kari. . . Kari Uchiha," was all you said.

Wind blew into the alley in the direction of the Sand ninja. Your hair flew around your face.

"Hi, there! I bet your dying to know my name, right?" Naruto shouted.

"I could care less," Gaara said. He turned and jumped away with Temari and Kankuro at his wake.

You heard Naruto conversing with the three younger kids on his coolness level.

You smiled at the knucklehead and jumped away.

* * *

"What do you think, Dosu?" a guy asked his comrade.

"The usual weaklings, nothing special" replied the guy sitting on the tree branch. But the two from the Uchiha clan and that desert rat, we should watch them. Carefully."

* * *

Akira stood in a room full of Jonin. He started walking toward the front of the room where the other Jonin of rookie Genin were standing.

Lord Hokage had asked that because of Kari, he should stand with the Jonin that had rookie Genin.

Akira saw Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi near the front.

"Well, if it isn't Akira Shuujuku," the man named Asuma stated. He was smoking, as usual, and when he spoke, the other two Jonin with him turned around.

"Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi," Akira said nodding at each of them.

"Akira," Kakashi said in response.

"So which one of you has Naruto Uzumaki?" your sensei asked with a smirk on his face.

"I'm almost afraid to answer," Kakashi said. "Why do you ask?"

"The second our training is done, Kari Uchiha will rush off saying she's late. She told us that she always has ramen with Naruto," Akira said shrugging. Kakashi chuckled with the other two Jonin, but quickly quieted down as Lord Hokage started to speak.

"All right. It is time we chose our candidates for the Chunin Examinations," said the Hokage from his seat in the front of the room.

"To begin, will those in charge of rookie Genin step forward?"

Akira and the other three Jonin stepped forward.

"Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Akira. What do you say? Are there any in your squads that you'd recommend who are ready for the exams despite their inexperience? As you know, any Genin who has carried out eight or more missions is technically eligible for the examinations. Beyond that, only you can decide when they are ready. Of course most Genin require a much longer training period, at least twice that many missions. So Kakashi, you begin," the Hokage said.

Kakashi held up his right hand and formed a hand sign similar to the Chinese zodiac for ram.

"I lead Squad 7. Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno. I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend all three of these Genin for the Chunin Exams."

"And my squad is number 8. Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame. And now I, Kurenai Yuhi, recommend all three."

"And my squad is number 10. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi. And now I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend all three."

"And I lead Team Akira. Kari Uchiha, Shiori Mekikei, Kozu Sentou. I, Akira Shuujuku, recommend all three."

Some of the other Jonin started to whisper. They knew that Akira's team had one rookie and two had been Genin for 1 year already.

"All ten rookies?"

"That doesn't make sense."

"It's been a while since all the rookies were recommended."

"Hold on just a minute!" Iruka shouted out. Akira and the other Jonin turned to face the Academy teacher.

"Yes. What is it, Iruka?" the Hokage asked.

"Lord Hokage, with all respect, The ten names of the rookies just given were all my students at the Academy. I know their skills and abilities. Every one of them has great promise, but it's too soon! They need more experience before they are tested. If they try now, they're sure to fail the Exam."

"When I became a Chunin, I was six years younger than Naruto is now," Kakashi said.

"Naruto is nothing like you!" Iruka exclaimed. "Are you trying to destroy him?"

"Well, they're always complaining about not being challenged enough. Maybe wiping out on the Exams will teach them a lesson. A little pain is good," Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

"What did you say?" Iruka asked angrily.

"Oh, nothing fatal of course, but seriously, Iruka, relax," Kakashi answered.

Iruka made an angry noise.

"Listen, Iruka. I understand how you feel. It's very personal for you and it upsets you, but-"

"All right, Kakashi. Back off. You've said enough," Kurenai interrupted.

"On the contrary, Kurenai, Iruka needs to hear this. He needs to realize that they're not his students anymore. They're mine."

"But these exams could destroy them! You know that!" Iruka yelled.

"Iruka. You have made your point. I understand," the Hokage said. "Accordingly, I have decided that the best thing to do is to hold a special preliminary test."

* * *

You were on your way to an early meeting with your team, when you sensed a strange chakra.

~What's this? ~

You continued walking, but at a slower pace.

You smirked as you took a turn down a long a deserted alley.

~It seems I have a stalker ~

Above you, kunai and shuriken came raining down toward you. You skillfully dodged them, and even caught some.

You quickly turned back around and threw a kunai at a Grass nin that had appeared behind you during the attack.

He caught it and jumped to the rooftops.

"Stay away from the Chunin exams. It'll be the death of you," the ninja warned in a ghostly voice.

When he disappeared, you cocked your head in confusion.

" . . . That . . . That was really weird."

* * *

"Anyone know why Akira-sensei called us here so early?" Shiori asked.

"No idea," you said.

You stared at your friends.

They both looked really tired and had bags under their eyes. Shiori's ponytail was a little messy and Kozu's red hair didn't look too good either.

The boys were wondering how you looked as if it were a normal training day. You were wide-awake, no bags under your eyes, you looked normal.

"Good morning, Team Akira," your sensei said as he appeared.

"Good morning," you replied happily.

"You're pretty chipper this morning," Kozu muttered.

"I'm always up around this time," you replied.

"Ok, team. I have some news for you," Akira said. "I've entered you in the Chunin Exams."

"Awesome!"

"Are you serious? Cool!"

"Sweet!" you and your teammates said at the same time.

"Here, take these," Akira said holding out three pieces of paper. You each took one.

"You sign it and bring it to the Academy in room 301. It's at 3 pm five days from now. That's all," he finished.

~The Chunin Exams . . . ~

* * *

Yayz! Rate and Review! Chunin Exams in next chapter! Woot!

~Kiri-chan


	7. Room 301

WOO HOO!!! Three chapters in ONE day!!!! I'm on a roll baby!!!!!!!! Hopefully I didn't make Kari, Kozu, and Shiori look like stuck up snobs :( that would be bad. . . ok enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, its characters, its plot, etc. . . But I _do _own Kari, Kozu, Shiori, and Akira and other OCs I might throw in. . .

* * *

You and your team were sitting on a table in a room full of other Genin teams.

This was room 301.

"Look at all of them, Kozu," you had said when you entered the room.

"Yeah. What a bunch of suckers," he said quietly. You turned to see your cocky friend smirking at the competition.

"Let's go sit down somewhere," Shiori said.

You sat down on a table in the middle of the room, while Kozu leaned back in a chair and Shiori leaned against the table.

You had watched every single person walk through that door since then, trying to match faces with chakra types. When there was a long space between the doors opening and closing, you would sense chakra around you and test yourself to see if you could remember the face.

You felt the chakra of Team 8 and Team 10 when they came in, and when Team 7 walked through the door you stood.

"Where are you going, now, Kari?" Kozu muttered.

You walked through the crowd of people toward your friend's team.

You felt the chakra of Team 8 and Team 10 gather around Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"Kari, slow down."

"How does she move through all these people so fast?"

"I don't know."

You kept on walking and you finally saw the other rookies. Team 7 was right in front of the door. Ino Yamanaka was hanging on top of Sasuke with Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi behind her. Standing in front of you was Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka.

"Yep. Here we all are. The nine rookies. Ha ha ha. This is gonna be fun," you heard Kiba say.

"Can't you count, Kiba? There's ten rookies," you said as you walked past Kiba to where Naruto was.

"Or have you already considered me way out of your league?" you smiled.

"Actually, I didn't even know you had a squad, Kari. Only Genin teams are allowed here. That means three people. I only see you," Kiba countered with a sarcastic bite in his voice.

"That's because you're not looking. Get over here, guys," you said to your teammates who were standing behind Team 8.

Kozu and Shiori made their way over to you and stood on either side of you.

You smiled and put your arms around your friends' necks.

"Rookies, meet Team Akira. Kozu Sentou, Shiori Mekikei, and yours truly, Kari Uchiha," you winked at Team 8.

"Where'd you pick these guys up, Kari?" Ino asked.

"Lord Hokage assigned me to their team since they're missing a member," you said smoothly.

You saw Shiori glance at Ino and smirk. You released your hold on the boys' necks and smiled as they moved to their normal positions.

Kozu put his hands in his pockets and looked around the room as if he were bored. Shiori crossed his arms and did the same, although he did look over at Team 10 quite a bit. You put one hand on your hip and the other hung loosely at your side.

Everyone turned when they heard a voice coming from the other side of the room.

"Hey, you guys. You might want to try keeping it down a little. I mean, no offense, but you're the rookies, right? Fresh out of the Academy."

The speaker was a teenage boy with silver hair and a purple outfit. He wore glasses and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

You saw that Kozu and Shiori had nonchalantly ignored the rookie comment.

"I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves. Just cool it. This isn't a class field trip," he continued.

"Well, who asked you? Who are you?" Ino asked.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But really, look around you. You've made quite an impression."

The rookies turned to face the crowd of other Genin staring at them. It was obvious they heard most of the conversation. While the other rookies nervously realized that everyone was watching them, you, Kozu, and Shiori had glanced at the crowd and then looked away.

You vaguely heard Kabuto telling the others about how the exam makes everyone tense. You heard Sakura speak up and you tuned back in to the conversation.

"So, Kabuto. This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?" you heard her say.

"No, its . . .my seventh," Kabuto replied slowly.

"Huh?" you heard someone ask.

"Well its held twice a year. So, this will be my fourth year," Kabuto said.

"Wow, a veteran! You must really be an expert by now," Sakura said in awe.

"Yeah, sort of," he replied.

"Cool! You can give us all the inside tips," Naruto said.

"Yeah, some expert. He's never passed," Shikamaru said.

"Come on, Kari. Let's get out of here," Kozu muttered.

"Yeah, we did this once before. We can fill you in," Shiori added.

"Ok, fine," you replied.

You followed Kozu past a table with three Leaf ninja: a boy that looked like a Hyuuga, a girl with buns on her head, and another boy dressed in a green jumpsuit.

Kozu nodded at the three and they returned the gesture. They looked at you in confusion and nodded again when Shiori walked by.

"Who were those guys?" you asked your team.

"They were in our graduating class. Neji Hyuuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee. All part of Team Guy," Shiori replied.

"Oh," you said quietly.

You sat on a desk and looked around you. You glanced down at Shiori who was sitting in a chair.

"So, are they any good?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Lee is a Taijutsu only ninja and is very fast. Neji is a genius and uses Byakugan. Tenten is a weapons master, she never misses."

You nodded as you thought of strategies for beating Team Guy.

"What about the other rookies?" Kozu asked.

You peered at your other teammate leaning on the desk from the corner of your eye.

"The only ones I would worry about are Naruto and Sasuke."

You paused.

"Shino might be a problem. I don't know him that well. He's quiet, but I know his skills have something to do with bugs, and the loud boy, Kiba, might also be an issue . . . If you get him angry enough anyway."

Your team stared at you a little longer, waiting for more information.

"Shikamaru is strategic, but lazy. It's a tough call, but I think he'll make it. Everyone else could go either way," you finished.

"Hm," Kozu responded.

"Well this is gonna be fun," Shiori said. "The competition is definitely up this year."

"I can't wait," you said.

You smiled as you heard a familiar voice shout out.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm gonna beat every one of you! Believe it!"

You chuckled.

~What a knucklehead~

You then reached your hand back to your fan and started to pull it out.

"Kozu," you said quietly.

"Yeah. Shiori?" Kozu asked.

"I heard them as well," Shiori muttered.

"What do we do?" you asked.

"Nothing. They're not after us," Kozu answered shrugging his shoulders.

You sighed and let your fan fall back into place. You saw Shiori shake his head at your disappointment.

You heard some loud talking from the back of the room, and before you could figure out what was going on, smoke filled the other end. You turned to hear a man's voice.

"All right you baby-faced degenerates! Pipe down and listen up."

Kozu and Shiori turned that direction as well as the rest of the room. The smoke cleared and you saw a man with headband that wrapped around his whole head. He had two scars on his face and wore a black trench coat.

"I am Ibiki Morino, your proctor, and from here on," he said, "your worst nightmare."

* * *

All right! Chunin Exams have begun! Woot! Any questions, comments, etc. . . review or message or whatever. . . Rate and review!

~Kiri-chan


	8. The Written Test

Woot! Another chapter out! I'm gonna try and get Chpater 9 and 10 out today if I can!!!!!!!!! XD Thanks again KiraUzamaki for reviewing! Kari's weakness is revealed in this chapter. . . Therefore she is not a Mary Sue! Yayz! . . . Anywho. . . There is some POV change in this chapter. . . Please Rate and Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto just Kari and my other OCs

* * *

Everyone in the room stared at the man called Ibiki Morino.

He had an intimidating appearance and an even more intimidating voice. He was full of authority and he knew it.

He pointed a gloved finger to the back of the room and shouted out.

"You! Sound ninja! Who said you could fight?"

"Sorry, sir," one of them said. You could hear the sarcasm in his voice as he continued. "Its our first time. I guess we're a little jumpy."

Ibiki lowered his hand and addressed the rest of the room.

"There will be no fighting without permission of a proctor. Even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Got it?"

Some people nodded while others murmured a "Yes sir."

You turned to your friends with a raised eyebrow. You could see that they were as disappointed with the no fighting rule as you were.

"Now if we're ready, we will proceed to the first stage of the Chunin Exams. Hand over your paperwork," he said. He held up a small square with a number 1 on it. "In return, you will each be given a number which determines where you will sit. We'll start the written test once you're all seated," he finished.

Your eyes widened and your mouth formed a small "o."

Your friends watched as your eyebrows furrowed and you frowned. You were thinking . . . Hard.

~Written? But that makes no sense. Why have a written exam? ~

You moved with the rest of the crowd to get a number.

* * *

Five minutes later, you were sitting near the back of the room in the middle of your row. You looked around and saw Kozu two rows in front of you on the right side of the room. Shiori sat on the left side, five rows in front of you.

Ibiki started to speak.

"Eyes front. There are a few rules you need to be aware of. And I'm not answering any questions so listen up! This part of the exam is based on a point reduction system. Rule 1: You all start out with 10 points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong."

~Makes sense, I guess~ you thought grimly.

"Rule 2: Teams will pass or fail depending on the total scores of all three members."

"Huh?" you asked.

"Wait a second! You mean we get scored as a team!?" you heard Sakura yell out.

~Oh, Naruto! I forgot, he stinks at written anything! ~

"Silence! I have my reasons. So shut up and listen!"

~This guy seems pretty touchy. I hope I never get on his wrong side~

"Rule 3: The sentinels positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. For every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score."

You raised your eyebrows and leaned forward with your arms crossed on the desk, steadily glaring at the proctor.

~Only two points? That's strange. Why not just kick the cheater out? ~

"Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating doesn't deserve to be here. If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be."

~Ok . . .I think we'll be ok. Shiori is really smart so I think he'll ace it. I think I'll be ok and Kozu will be fine as long as he goes slowly. Yeah. Ok~

"One more thing. If any candidate should get a zero and fail the entire test, then the whole team is disqualified."

~Oh no, Naruto . . .~

"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the test. You have one hour. Begin!"

You turned over your paper and started reading.

And reading.

And reading.

And reading.

~Well this is interesting. I can't even understand a single one of these questions. ~

You leaned back a bit a looked ahead of you.

Shiori was scribbling as fast as he could and Kozu was still reading. You saw a few other candidates writing down the answers, but everyone else was still reading.

~The only way I'm gonna answer one of these is if I cheat. The same goes for Kozu. But we can't. One of the sentinels will definitely catch us. But the way the questions get harder and harder . . . Its like they want us to-~

Your eyes met the proctors'.

Yours widened.

He smirked and moved on.

~That's it. They want us to cheat. They want to see how good we are at gathering information without getting caught. The proctor's not forbidding us from cheating, he's expecting us to. He's daring us to cheat and not get caught. Ok, Kozu, I need you to figure it out. I can't do this without your help~

Two rows in front of you and on the right side of the room, Kozu Sentou looked over to the windows and out of the corner of his eye, saw you staring at him.

He smiled and nodded.

You watched him place his hand on the table, searching for Shiori's paper.

You knew exactly what he was doing.

Once he found Shiori's desk using the earth impediments in the desktops, he would feel the indentations from Shiori's answers on his desk, and copy onto his own paper. Then when he had the answers, he would make those same indentations on the desk you sat at, giving you the answers.

If Shiori got all nine of the written answers correct, then all you and Kozu had to do was answer the tenth question.

You placed your hand on your paper and felt Kozu already making indents on the desk. You quickly memorized the first and wrote it down. In less than ten minutes, you had all the answers.

You dropped your pencil on the desk and let your gaze drift around the room.

You saw that Sasuke had figured it out and was probably using his Sharingan to copy the answers of the person in front of him. Sakura was already done and Naruto . . . Naruto was just sitting there.

~Come on, Naruto. You can figure this out! ~

* * *

Ibiki looked around the room. He had seen you and your team finish long ago.

~That one finished within the first five minutes of the test. His two teammates, the Uchiha girl and the other boy were a little slow. I don't know how they cheated, but they figured it out fast~

Ibiki had met your gaze earlier. You had obviously figured it out and his smirk had confirmed it.

Again, Ibiki's eyes drifted across the room.

And once again, he met your straying eyes.

The Uchiha girl smiled and winked.

The proctor nodded his head ever so slightly, and focused his eyes on another Genin.

* * *

~Here we go. The tenth question~

"All right! Listen up. Here's the tenth and final question!"

~Ok then. Let's do this . . .~

"Before I give you the last question, there are some more rules you need to follow."

~Great. More rules~

"Rule 1: Each of you is free not to be given the final question. It's your decision. "

"Whoa! So what's the catch? Let's say we decide we don't want to do it. What happens then?" called out Temari.

"If you choose not to answer the tenth question, then regardless of the rest of your answers, you'll get a zero. In other words, you fail. And that means both of your teammates fail as well."

Shiori and Kozu looked at each other before turning back to you. You nodded and leaned back in your chair. You weren't going to quit on this one.

Everyone else muttered to themselves.

"Who would choose to fail?"

"Why would anyone want to fail?"

Ibiki sighed.

"You didn't let me finish. If you choose to accept the question but answer incorrectly, not only will you fail, you will be barred from ever taking the Chunin Exam ever again!"

"Hey! What's with the bogus rule, man?!" yelled out Kiba. "Lots of people here have taken the exam before!"

Ibiki laughed and answered.

"I guess you're just unlucky. Of course if you want to skip out on the question, by all means if you don't feel confident you don't have to answer it. You can try again next year."

He laughed again.

~ . . .That makes the decision a whole lot tougher. I don't know about Kozu and Shiori, but I'm taking the question. ~

"Now then if you're ready. The tenth and final question. For those who don't want to take it, raise your hand."

A kid sitting next to Naruto raised his hand and spoke.

"I'm out. I'm sorry, guys. I'm out."

One of the sentinels announced their numbers as the kid kept apologizing to his team.

More and more people started raising their hands.

Suddenly, an arm with an orange sleeve went up too.

~Naruto . . .~

You sighed and closed your eyes.

You heard a loud slam and your eyes quickly opened.

"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You guys aren't gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a Genin for the rest of my life!" Naruto shouted.

He stood with both hands flat on the table.

"I'll still be Hokage someday! Believe it!"

He sat down and crossed his arms.

You smiled and giggled.

~Naruto . . . You are one stubborn guy! ~

"This decision is one that could change your life. If you have any reason to quit, now's your last chance," Ibiki continued.

"No way, I never go back on my word. That's the way of the ninja," Naruto said.

After a long pause, Ibiki stepped forward.

"Well, for those left, I admire your determination, if nothing else. There's only one thing left to do. And that's for me to tell you . . .That you've all passed the first exam!"

You listened to Ibiki explain that he had to test you not only individually, but as a team and how well you functioned as a part of that team. He also explained how the test was designed for cheating and that you had to use your skills to gather information to pass the test. You were shocked to see the burn marks, puncture wounds, and scars hidden beneath the headband that he removed while telling you the dangers of misinformation.

You nodded your head in agreement as he explained why the cheaters were removed.

~Right. If someone gets caught gathering information, the enemy isn't going to give them four more chances. They're going to terminate you right then and there~

"Yeah. Ok. But I'm still not seeing what the whole tenth question thing was about," Temari spoke up.

"You're not? That was the main point of this exam. The final question gave you two choices, both difficult: You could choose to play it safe and skip the question even though it meant both you and your teammates would fail, or you could try and answer though if you got it wrong you would lose chance of ever being Chunin. It was a no win situation. The sort that Chunin have to face almost every day."

The proctor paced across the front of the room.

He faced the Genin again.

He gave an example of a no win situation that Chunin might face.

"Those whose determination falters in the face of adversity, those who would put their comrades lives at risk to save their own necks, will never be able to be called Chunin, at least as long as I'm here. As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I have put to you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step. I hereby declare this part of the Chunin Exams completed. There's nothing left but to wish you all good luck," he finished.

~Hm. . . We did it guys~

You heard Naruto start shouting out and cheering.

"Oh yeah! We did it! Woo hoo! Yeah!"

You giggled.

~Naruto, you knucklehead~

"Hm?"

You turned to face the window.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Shiori and Kozu turn as well.

A small black dot was becoming bigger and bigger as it sped toward the window.

It crashed through the window and you could see it was a big ball of cloth.

~What the? ~

Two kunai emerged from the dark material and lodged into the ceiling as a woman tumbled out gracefully.

The banner read, "Here comes the Second Test's Proctor Anko Mitarashi."

"Heads up, boys and girls! This is no time to be celebrating!"

The woman named Anko wore dark fishnet and a yellow skirt with a tan trench coat. She wore shin guards and her purple hair was spiked up. Her eyes, a strange purple hue shined in the dull classroom.

"I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi," she said.

"Are you ready for the second test? Good! Let's go! Follow me!" she said throwing a fist into the air.

You felt a sweat drop start growing at an alarming rate on the back of your head.

~Talk about hyper . . .~

Ibiki looked around the edge of the banner.

"You're early . . . Again," he said emotionlessly.

"Eh he he he . . . " she said as her smile turned into a frown.

You heard her converse with Ibiki for a few seconds.

"All right. You maggots have had it easy so far. But things are gonna be different starting first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where to meet me. Dismissed," she said, almost singing the last word.

* * *

After the Genin had left, Ibiki collected the test papers.

He collected Shiori's first.

~What's this? ~

He looked closer and saw that indents from the pencil had been made on the desk. Deep indents.

"I wonder . . ."

He collected other papers and when he got to Kozu's, the same indents were in his desk. Only they were deeper.

He skipped the rest of the papers and moved to your desk where he saw the same indents, about the same depth as Shiori's.

"Interesting . . ."

* * *

You stood with your team in front of a large gate surrounding a forest.

The gate had locks and paper bombs all over the bars.

"Wow . . . Its huge," said Kozu.

"How big is it?" you asked.

"I'm not sure. It's really dense though. And I think there's a river, too," Kozu replied.

"I wonder what we're gonna do in there," Shiori mused.

You looked around at the other Chunin. You saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura a few feet away.

"Whoa, nice place. What is it?" Naruto asked.

"This is the location for the second phase of the exam. It's the 44th Battle Training Zone. But we call it the Forest of Death," Anko answered.

You saw a giant snake slither around a tree branch. You shuddered involuntarily.

"What's wrong, Kari-chan?" Shiori asked.

"I hate snakes," you said shuddering again.

"Do they freak you out that much?" Kozu asked.

"Yes," you muttered.

"Its ok, Kari-chan. We'll protect you from the scary snakes," Kozu teased.

You glared at your friend.

His smirk quickly disappeared as he held up his hands.

"Sorry, Kari-chan. I was just joking," he said quickly.

"Yeah, yeah," you muttered again.

You turned away and saw Naruto imitating Anko.

~This isn't going to go over well~ you thought as you walked toward him.

"Do your worst! You aren't going to scare me!" Naruto shouted.

"So," said Anko, tilting her head. "Looks like we got ourselves a tough guy."

She pulled a kunai out of her sleeve and threw it so fast that you barely saw it.

The kunai scratched Naruto's cheek and landed between you and a Grass ninja.

You looked out of the corner of your eye and saw that the Grass ninja was doing the same. Neither of you had flinched, let alone blinked when the kunai hit the ground.

Anko suddenly appeared behind Naruto.

"Are you tough enough to handle this? You're not afraid are you?"

She put one hand one his face and tilted it.

"Guys like you usually leave their blood all over the forest," she continued.

You saw the Grass ninja had disappeared.

You stepped forward, but Shiori grabbed your wrist.

You glanced back at him and saw him shake his head before letting your arm go.

You turned your gaze back to Naruto and Anko.

The Grass ninja had grabbed the kunai with her tongue and was now extremely close to Anko who had pulled out a kunai.

"I was . . .just returning your knife," the Grass ninja said.

"Why, thank you, Grass ninja," Anko replied.

She continued in a threatening voice.

"You know, I only recommend you stand this close behind me if you wish to reach a premature end."

Anko grabbed the kunai as the ninja's tongue slid back into her mouth.

"My pardon," she said. "With sight of blood and the kunai flying through the air, I became a little excited. I meant you no harm."

The Grass ninja walked in your direction. You stepped away to give her room.

She slowed as she reached you and she tilted her hat up.

Your eyes widened as you saw her snake-like tongue lick her lips and slither back into her mouth.

You took yet another step back and allowed your teammates to turn you around.

"Sorry," you murmured.

"Are you ok?" Shiori asked.

You saw they both had worried looks on their faces.

Your right hand went to the back of your head as you tried to smile.

"I'm fine. Really," you said.

You glanced at the Grass ninja, but then quickly turned away.

"Now before we begin this test, I have something to hand out to you all."

Anko pulled out some papers from her jacket.

"Its just a standard consent form. Before the test, you all are going to have to read over the form and then sign it."

"What for?" Naruto asked.

"Some of you may not come back from this test. And I have to get your consent for that risk. Otherwise it would be my responsibility," Anko said before she started laughing.

As the papers were passed out, the test was explained.

This part of the Exam is to test the Genin on survival skills.

Anko showed a map of the terrain.

~Dense forest and a river . . . Kozu was pretty accurate. As usual~

The forest had 44 entrances. There was a tower as well, which was located 10 kilometers from each gate.

"It's in this confined area where you'll undergo the survival test. The test consists of," she said rolling up the map, "an anything-goes battle to get your hands on these two scrolls."

Anko held up two scrolls: One black, one white.

"You'll be fighting to get both a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. Twenty-six teams are participating in this part of the test. Half of them will be going after a Heaven scroll, and the other half will be trying to get an Earth scroll. I'll give type of scroll to each team, and that's what you'll be fighting for," she said.

"Ok, but how do we pass the test?" Sasuke asked.

"Your entire squad must bring both a Heaven and an Earth scroll to the tower."

"So that means at the very best, half of us will fail, more if not every team is able to get both the scrolls," Sakura said.

"No one ever said it would be easy. Oh yeah, one more thing: You have a time limit. You must finish it within five days," Anko added.

"Five days out there!"

"What are we supposed to do for food?"

"Just look around. The forest is full of things to eat," Anko said.

You turned away from the conversation.

"Are you guys ready?" you asked them quietly.

"Yeah," said Kozu.

"There are also some ways you can get disqualified: If all three members of a team don't get to the tower with both scrolls within five days. Number two, if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most important, none of you may look at the contents of the scrolls until you've reached the tower. There are times when you will be asked to transport secret documents on a mission. The scroll rule will test your integrity. All right. That's it. After you sign your forms, exchange them for your scrolls over there. Then each team pick a gate and you'll be let inside."

Anko sighed.

"Oh. And I have one more word of advice. Just don't die!"

* * *

Ok, I hope during the test I didn't make Kari seem unimportant to the team. . . Cause she is, she really is :) . . . Um. . . Review and rate please!

~Kiri-chan


	9. Attacked In The Forest of Death

Once again I apologize if Kari looks kinda pathetic in this one. . . But it happens to all the characters every once in a while. . . She does not like snakes one bit :) And one of the big baddies is a snake freak. . . How inconvenient. . . Ok, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. . . I do own Kari and my other OCs

* * *

You sat on a tree branch twirling a kunai on your finger. Shiori leaned against the same tree while Kozu sat on the ground next to him. All three of you were reading your consent forms.

You heard footsteps and you stopped twirling your kunai. You looked away from your form toward the ground beneath you. Kozu and Shiori had also looked up from their papers.

You and your teammates stared at the Grass ninja as they walked by. The one that had sneaked up on Anko was leading the group. She stopped and the two behind halted as well. You jumped down from the tree as Kozu was standing up.

Shiori moved away from the tree and stood almost in front of you. Kozu took the same motion. The Grass ninja smirked and licked her lips as she had done before.

You stiffened up a little as your eyes widened. You heard a strange noise, like a whimper. When Kozu and Shiori turned to look at you, you realized it was you making the noise.

The long tongue slid back into its owner's mouth. She smiled and walked off.

When they were out of sight, you leaned against the tree and slid down to the ground. Your teammates crouched beside you.

"Kari-chan?"

"Are you ok, Kari-chan?"

You slowly nodded your head.

Shiori held his hand up to your forehead. You saw a green glow and suddenly you felt better.

"Thank you Shiori-kun, Kozu-kun," you said.

You heard someone say loudly, "Ok. We are going to begin handing out scrolls now. Please bring your signed consent forms, one team at a time.

Your teammates watched as you shakily stood up.

"Kari-chan," Kozu started, but you were already walking away.

When they caught up with you, your face was normal again and you were having a conversation with Naruto.

"Are you ready for this, Kari-chan?"

"Yeah. What about you, Naruto-kun?" you asked.

"I'm totally ready! Believe it, Kari!" Naruto replied, pumping his fist into the air.

You smiled and laughed.

"Kari, let's go hand our papers in," Shiori said motioning toward the booth.

"Ok. See you later, Naruto-kun," you said, waving to your friend as you walked away.

After handing in your papers to the Chunin at the booth, you received an Earth scroll.

Shiori handed it to you.

Your eyes opened in shock.

These guys were trusting you, the only rookie on the team, to take care of the scroll.

~They must really trust me~ you thought.

You took the scroll and stuffed it in your pouch.

~Then I won't disappoint them! ~

* * *

You stood in front of the gate numbered 33 with your team and a Chunin.

"Let's do this guys," you said.

"Oh yeah!" replied Kozu.

"You know what to do when we get in, right Kozu, Kari?" Shiori asked.

"Yeah, I know," Kozu said, nodding his head.

"Yeah," you answered as well.

You turned to the gate to see the Chunin unlocking it.

A few seconds later, they burst open and Team Akira ran into the forest. You started looking for the chakra types that Kozu had identified earlier.

"To the right," you said, recognizing the chakra of a group of Genin that held a Heaven scroll.

Seconds later, Kozu spoke.

"One kilometer to the right," he confirmed.

Kozu took the lead, turning from our northern route to a northeastern route. You and Shiori followed side by side.

"Hm?"

You stopped in your tracks.

"What is it, Kari-chan?"

Kozu and Shiori had stopped as well.

You were silent, focusing on three particular chakras.

~Sasuke and Sakura obviously . . .And the other one is . . .~

The face of the Grass ninja appeared in your head and you gave an unwilling shudder.

~But where is Naruto? ~

"Kari-chan?"

You slowly turned to face your team.

"Trouble," you murmured.

~What should I do? ~

"Kari, whatever it is, we'll take care of it after we get our scroll. We have to progress," Shiori said.

You paused for a moment.

~He's right. My team comes first~

"Let's go."

* * *

You stood over the unconscious Genin and searched their pouches.

Food, shuriken, ordinary scrolls, and wire were all found in the first Genin's pouch and the second's pouch held similar contents.

You opened the third Genin's pouch and saw the Heaven scroll. You picked it up and turned to Kozu and Shiori.

"Got it," you said to your teammates.

"Ok. Let's go then."

It hadn't even taken five minutes to reach the targets, put them under a Genjutsu, knock them out, and steal the scroll.

"This way," you said.

"Hai," your teammates replied.

You searched for Sasuke's chakra again. You found it, along with Sakura's and the Grass ninja's. Normally, you would have sighed in relief when you sensed Naruto.

But something was wrong. The chakra was familiar, but there was way more than usual.

~Oh no. . . Not the Fox . . .Please not the Fox~

You could see between the trees where the confrontation was taking place. Sakura and Sasuke were on a tree branch a few feet apart. In front of them was a giant snake with the Grass ninja on its head. The Grass ninja's tongue was wrapped around Naruto's chest and arms.

You stopped, not even taking into account the large snake, your fear for Naruto's safety overcoming your fear of the reptilian creature.

The Grass ninja's fingers on her right hand each had a small purple flame. She jabbed her fingers into his stomach and you heard Naruto yell out. Sakura yelled out something to Sasuke, whom you noticed was as frozen as you were.

Naruto became limp.

The Grass ninja took a Heaven scroll out of Naruto's pouch, then threw him.

You ran.

Naruto started to fall.

Before he had even fallen to the next branch, he was safely over your shoulder. You landed on the nearest branch and turned to face the other ninja. Sakura looked somewhat relieved and Sasuke was still frozen. The Grass ninja turned to look at you.

Your anger at her for throwing your best friend to his almost certain death was enough to keep away the fear of the giant snake on which she stood and of her own resemblance to the reptile.

You set Naruto down as Kozu and Shiori landed behind you. Sakura yelled at Sasuke some more. You weren't even paying attention.

"Shiori-" you started.

"On it," he said.

Shiori knelt beside Naruto and checked to make sure he was ok. You turned to Sasuke. He was still frozen. Your anger boiled.

"What's wrong with you, Sasuke?!" you yelled.

He turned to look at you.

"Stop acting like a coward! How could you just stand by while your best friend falls to his death!? Get a grip of yourself!" you shouted, tears brimming at the corners of your eyes.

"NO!" shouted out Sasuke.

Sasuke's Sharingan was activated. It stared at the Grass ninja with intensity. The snake disappeared in a giant puff of smoke. Sasuke attacked. He fought hand to hand with the Grass ninja for a while. After watching the Grass ninja run circles around him, Sasuke used his Fireball Jutsu. It appeared to have no effect on the Grass ninja. They stood watching each other. Again they attacked.

Sasuke suddenly struck from above, turning the ninja upside down and hit her head against the forest floor.

You jumped down a few branches to get a closer look and gasped as you saw the body turn to mud.

Sasuke was quickly barraged by kunai and punches from the stranger. He fell to the ground and his opponent walked toward him, taunting. Sasuke came back and quickly trapped the Grass ninja to a tree using his wire and shuriken.

~Sharingan Windmill Triple Attack . . .Nice move, Sasuke, but what will you do next? ~

Fire burst forth from Sasuke and ran along the wire to the Grass ninja.

~Fire Dragon Jutsu . . . Smart move, brother, smart move~

The tree was charred and the figure tied to it was still.

You jumped down to your brother, Sakura following slowly.

"Nice one, Sasuke," you said.

He was leaning forward breathing heavily.

"Are you ok, Sasuke?" you asked.

You heard wires snapping, and then you couldn't move.

"What the-!"

"Such mastery of the Sharingan and so young of age," the Grass ninja's voice started to change. "A true Uchiha after all. Yes. You'll do nicely."

You looked toward the voice and saw the Grass ninja pulling a mask off her face. Under it was a man, skin so pale it was white, and eyes a green color like that of a snake's.

"You are definitely his brother, if anything your eyes are even keener than Itachi's," the man said.

Your eyes widened at the name.

~I-Itachi . . .~

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Sasuke yelled.

The ninja pulled out the Heaven scroll and tossed it into the air.

"My name is Orochimaru. As for what I want, that will have to wait until we meet again, which won't happen until you finish this test with the best score of all."

The scroll started to burn in his hand.

"First you'll have to defeat the Hidden Sound ninja who serve me," he continued.

"If we meet again it will be too soon!" you said forcefully.

"Oh, he and I will meet again," Orochimaru replied. He made some hand signs and his neck extended like a snake's body, curving and twisting in the air.

His head zoomed forward and bit Sasuke's neck as you watched helplessly.

"Sasuke!" you and Sakura cried out.

After releasing Sasuke, Orochimaru's head went back to his body. Sasuke grabbed his neck in pain as you shouted out.

"Sasuke!"

You struggled to turn and glare at Orochimaru.

"You! What have you done to him?!"

"I just gave him a little parting gift. Soon Sasuke will seek me out and desire my power. In the mean time, I enjoyed the demonstration of the powers he already possesses," he said.

Your anger reached its limit and you ran toward him at full speed, pulling your fan out along the way.

You faintly heard Shiori telling you to stop, but you paid no attention.

"Haaaaa!" you yelled as you swung your fan like a sword.

Orochimaru disappeared and your attack hit the tree he had been standing in front of. Your fan had gone halfway through the thick tree and you pulled it out with surprising ease.

"Impressive strength," a voice said behind you.

You whirled around only to be thrown into a different tree. As you hit the tree, your fan dropped from your hand and hit the ground.

Suddenly, you couldn't breathe. Your hands grabbed at the pale white hand choking you.

"Kari!"

"Leave her alone!" you heard your teammates yelling out.

"Another Uchiha, I see. Itachi must be going soft, letting both his younger brother and sister live through the massacre," Orochimaru mused.

He licked his lips and you froze once again. He smirked in a knowing way; your fear was obvious. His eyes drifted to the fan lying on the ground.

It had snapped open when you had dropped it, revealing the Uchiha insignia and the two tongues of fire on either side of it.

"Interesting," he muttered.

His tongue drifted out of his mouth again and lifted up your shirt halfway to reveal the black flame tattoo on your stomach.

"The newest tessen of the Uchiha clan. How very interesting," he continued to whisper.

"Let . . .go . . .of me . . ." you managed to choke out.

"We will meet again as well . . . Kari Uchiha," he said.

He started to slide into the ground, releasing you as he disappeared. You dropped to the ground, taking big gulps of air to satisfy your lungs. You vaguely heard Sasuke cry out in pain, and Sakura calling out his name.

Kozu and Shiori were suddenly holding you up between them.

"I'll take her," Kozu said.

Shiori helped get you into Kozu's arms.

"Take me . . . to Sasuke," you whispered.

You felt Kozu nod his head and start walking.

When he stopped, he put you down carefully. When you saw Sasuke's face contorted in pain, tears dripped down your face.

You hugged your brother and the last thing you saw before you blacked out was a strange mark on his shoulder where Orochimaru had bitten him.

* * *

Yeah. . . Um. . . Rate and Review pleasies :)

~Kiri-chan


	10. Kari's Fight

Hello all! Ok so I know I mixed up the pairings for the Chunin exams but if I hadn't then it wouldn't have all worked out :) And I'm not going to go into a ton of detail about the battles other than Kari's, Kozu's, and Shiori's. . . Cause you've seen the others on TV or read them in the manga or whatever. . . Ok and I know that you guys will be like "Wait a second, Kabuto led Naruto and his team to the end. . . How'd he get into two places at once?" Well if you're gonna be picky, Kari and the guys were a couple days ahead of Naruto and the gang so :P . . .

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just Kari and my other OCs.

* * *

You opened your eyes slowly.

You saw a fire in front of you and on the other side sat Kozu, Shiori and, to your great surprise, Kabuto Yakushi.

You sat up slowly, rubbing your eyes and crossing your legs.

Your arms felt bare, and you saw that someone had removed your jacket. You wore only your gray cami and fishnet arm warmers under your jacket, along with your vermilion necklace.

The boys had stopped talking.

"I see you're awake," Kabuto said, nodding in your direction.

"Obviously," you muttered.

Kozu handed you a cooked fish on a stick. You immediately started shoving the meat into your mouth.

"Not to be rude," you said between mouthfuls, "but why are you here?"

You stared at Kabuto.

"He saved our skins," Shiori said matter of factly.

"How?" you asked.

"I was carrying you and Shiori was following. We landed in a clearing for like five minutes when these huge tigers came out. We couldn't set you down or else they'd eat you, so it was just Shiori who was able to fight. Then Kabuto and his team showed up and saved us," Kozu said.

"Oh . . .Well, thanks, Kabuto," you said slowly.

"Yeah," he answered slowly as well.

"We better move now," you said after a few moments silence. "It will be dark soon, and the other teams will be resting."

"If you say so," Shiori shrugged indifferently.

"Where to, Kozu?" you asked your other friend.

He paused for a few minutes.

"That way," he said pointing toward the setting sun.

"Ok. Let's go," you said. You helped the others pack up and put out the fire.

You pulled on your jacket and left it unzipped a little ways.

Kozu took the lead with you on his right flank and Shiori on your left flank. Kabuto followed Shiori.

You were attacked only twice the next day and your team effectively defeated your opponents.

Shiori put them under a Genjutsu, Kozu trapped them with his Earth style jutsu, and you knocked them out.

Your team wasted no chakra.

There was an incident in which you came across another large snake. Kozu had the pleasure of defeating it all by himself while Shiori made sure that it didn't get close to you if it got past Kozu.

Kabuto made no comment, although Shiori told you later when he was out of earshot that Kabuto had been watching you very closely, as if studying and memorizing your reaction to the reptile.

You reached the tower on the third day.

"Thanks again, Kabuto," Shiori said.

"It wasn't a problem, really," he said putting his right hand behind his head.

"Well, see you around," you said walking toward a door.

Kozu and Shiori followed you inside. On the wall in front of you was a board with writing on it.

"If qualities of Heaven are your desire, then acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If Earthly qualities are what you lack, then train your body and prepare to attack. When Heaven and Earth are opened together the perilous path will become righteous forever. This something is the secret way that guides us from this place today," you read aloud.

"I wonder what this 'something' is," said Shiori.

"I don't know, but the rest of it is about the scrolls," you said thoughtfully.

"Well, let's open them," Kozu said.

You took out the Earth scroll as Shiori took out the Heaven scroll.

You and Shiori opened them.

~Man? Person? ~

"Summoning Jutsu. Get rid of the scrolls!" Shiori said throwing his across the room.

You threw yours and stepped back as smoke filled the room.

A figure appeared in the haze.

"Akira-sensei!" you said joyfully.

"Congratulations, Team Akira," your sensei smiled. "You passed the second exam."

"Sweet!"

"Seriously? That rules!"

"Awesome!"

"I was going to treat you all to dumplings and tea-"

"Uh-oh," Kozu said as your eyes lit up.

You jumped up and hugged your sensei.

"Sensei, you rock! I'm so sick of bugs and snakes! Dumplings and tea would be awesome! Maybe we can each have a sip of sake? You know for celebration! Sensei-" you were cut off by a hand covering your mouth.

"Sorry, sensei," Shiori said as he dragged you away.

"So, wait a second. What about that?" Kozu asked, pointing at the writing.

"I'm glad you asked about that, Kozu. The Third Hokage made these guidelines for a Chunin to follow. Heaven stands for your mind, Earth for your body," Akira said.

"Oh, I get it. So if you are not very smart, then you need to study and work on being smarter, right?" you said.

"Correct. And if you are not very strong, then you need to train on your strength," Akira added.

"Makes sense," Shiori said nodding his head.

"I'm glad that I don't have to teach all of you that. All three of you are brilliant and strong, though some of you lean more towards one than the other," Akira said, nodding at Kozu and Shiori.

"What about the blank spot?" you asked.

"That was for you to fill in yourselves. This test was to see how you would fare as Chunin, and I have to say, you passed wonderfully," Akira said.

"Thanks, Sensei," you said.

"When you guys are all done with this, dango and tea on me," Akira said.

* * *

You, Shiori, and Kozu along with seven other teams stood in columns in front of the Hokage, your senseis, and other proctors in a large room.

"First of all, congratulations on finishing the second exam," Anko called out.

You looked around. On your right side was Team 7.

Naruto turned to face you.

He gave you the usual knucklehead smile and you returned it. Behind him stood your brother, looking straight ahead, and then Sakura, who was also looking around.

You saw Team 10 and Team 8 and even Team Guy.

You noticed the Sound ninja and the Sand ninja were there as well and even Kabuto and his team.

You looked at the senseis.

Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi were the rookie squad leaders; a Sand Jonin was obviously there for Gaara and his team, Might Guy for Rock Lee's team, and a Sound Jonin for the three Sound ninja.

"Ok, Lord Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you, so you better listen carefully, maggots!" Anko said loudly.

"Before I explain the third exam to you, I have something very important to tell you. I am going to tell you the true purpose of these exams," he said.

~True purpose? ~

The Third Hokage continued to tell the Genin of the true purpose. They were representation of the battles between allied nations. He explained that these exams also allow for a place where a shinobi can carry the pride of their nation on their backs, and fight against others for their lives. This exam, he explained, could also determine the course of their ninja work from here on out. Important people from various nations come to watch these exams so they can note the strengths that each ninja and each nation is developing. The strength of the ninja was the strength of the nation.

"Now listen very carefully, I'm going to tell you exactly what you'll all be doing on the third exam," Lord Hokage said.

A ninja appeared in front of him.

"Lord Hokage, before you do, please let me, Hayate Gekko, to say something first," the ninja said.

"So be it," Lord Hokage replied.

"Its nice to meet you all," Hayate said turning around. "There is something I would like all of you to do before the third exam."

"Hm?" you said quietly.

"Uhh, we have to have a preliminary exam before we can move on to the real one."

"A preliminary exam?" you asked.

"You see, the first and second exams might have been too easy. The fact is, we never expected so many of you to get this far. Cough, cough. According to the rules, a preliminary exam can be held in any stage in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining. Cough, cough, cough. It's just that at this stage, we have to speed things up a bit. A lot of important guests will be here. We can't afford to waste their time. They've come only to see the best. If any of you feel that you're not in top physical condition, you can bow out now. The preliminaries will be starting immediately," the proctor explained.

You raised an eyebrow.

~Like anyone's going to quit, not after getting this far~

After a few minutes of silence, the Hayate coughed some more before speaking.

"Very well then. We will now begin the preliminary round. This round consists of one-on-one individual combat. There are 24 of you remaining, that means 12 matches. There are no rules. You fight until your opponent dies, concedes defeat, or is rendered physically incapable of continuing. Although I urge you to concede defeat if the battle is hopeless, so we can save as many lives as possible. Now its time to reveal what fate has chosen for you."

A panel on the wall slid upward, revealing a TV screen.

"The names of each pair of opponents are chosen completely at random. Before each match, the names will appear on this display screen. As there's nothing more to say, let's begin," the proctor said.

The screen lit up, and names were changing on the top and bottom rows.

It stopped.

~They didn't waste much time, did they? ~

The screen read: Kari Uchiha vs. Kabuto Yakushi.

"Ok now. Those whose names have been drawn, come forward."

You stepped forward and saw that Kabuto was doing the same.

You turned to face the elder Leaf ninja.

"You have been chosen for the first match: Kari Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi."

You stared at your opponent.

"The first match will now begin. Everyone other than the two opposing candidates will now clear the area and move to the upper level."

Everyone filed to the stairs leading to the balcony on the sides of the large room.

As your sensei passed you, he gave you a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't overdo it, Kari," Akira muttered.

You flashed a smile and a mischievous glint appeared in your eye.

"When do I ever?" you asked jokingly. Akira sighed and continued walking.

When everyone was in their place, the proctor raised his hands.

"Now. Let the first match begin."

As soon as the words left his mouth, you flipped backwards, hiding your hand signs from your opponent. When your Shadow Clone landed, Kabuto charged with a kunai in his hand. Your Shadow Clone grabbed his arm as it passed by. You charged from behind and hit him in his side with your fan.

He skid across the floor while you assessed your next move.

Up in the balconies, Akira was shaking his head.

~I can already tell. She's going to overdo it~

Kabuto stood and turned to face you only to see that you had made hand signs and were preparing to attack.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" you shouted out.

Kabuto dodged some of the miniature fireballs.

He landed a few feet away with mild burns and, to his surprise, shuriken cuts.

Lone shuriken lay scattered all over one side of the room.

"You hid shuriken in your attack?!" he asked, obviously not expecting the twist.

You smiled.

"What's wrong, Kabuto? Can't you take the heat?" you taunted.

Your team dropped their heads as enormous sweat drops appeared.

He pulled out another kunai knife and went for the attack again.

You grimaced and pulled out your fan using the metal frame to block the attack.

As you pushed Kabuto away from you with your fan, you felt something light touch your arms at your shoulders, elbows, and wrists.

You jumped back and used the fan as a club once again, sending Kabuto flying across the room.

"Ah!" you shouted. You dropped your fan and felt your joints in your arm.

~So much pain . . . But how? ~

You looked up to see your opponent crumpled on the floor.

The limp figure disappeared in a puff of smoke, and you were flung upwards toward the balcony in which the Sound and Sand ninja stood with Kabuto's team.

You recovered and focused chakra on the bottom of your feet, twisting yourself in the air so that your feet landed on the balcony wall.

You winked at Kabuto's team watching the fight before pushing off.

You landed gracefully in front of Kabuto and spun on one foot, swinging the other into his face.

He was thrown away once again as you fell forward on your knees and wrapped your hands around your elbows.

~My arms hurt so bad~

You heard a noise and looked up in time to feel Kabuto's knee hit your chin, sending you flying upward.

You landed on your back, your impact with the floor making a good-sized dent.

You lay there for a minute or so, barely breathing.

~I have to use my fan . . . Its the only way~

You stood up slowly.

Kabuto was watching you carefully as you bent down to pick up your fan, lying only a foot away.

You snapped it open and took a deep breath.

He charged.

You quickly shouted out," Fire Style: Dance of Flames!"

You spun in a circle, and as the fan followed you, fire appeared.

When you completed your rotation, a great cylinder of fire surrounded you, protecting you from Kabuto's attacks and burning him.

You were breathing heavily as the fire started to drop from the ceiling to the floor, slowly burning out.

Kabuto lay on the floor unconscious, clothes singed, his glasses were covered in soot, and his skin was slightly burned.

The proctor waited for a minute.

He finally spoke," The winner of the first match is Kari Uchiha!"

You smiled and, exhausted from using so much chakra, you began to fall backwards.

Before you hit the ground, you were being lifted up into someone's arms.

You opened your eyes to see your sensei shaking his head.

"Why do you always have to overdo it?" he muttered.

You laughed weakly.

"You know me, Sensei. Always gotta go out with a bang."

He sighed and jumped back up to the balcony, laying you against the wall.

You saw the medics lifting your opponent on a stretcher and carry him out of the room.

"Now, the opposing candidates for the second battle will be chosen," the proctor said.

The screen started scrolling through names again.

When it stopped, you turned to look at your brother.

He was smirking as he jumped down to fight.

* * *

"He did it," you said happily.

Sasuke had fought and beaten Yoroi, who could drain strength and chakra with the palm of his hand.

~Pretty useful technique . . .~

You had almost enjoyed it when Naruto had taunted Sasuke from the stands.

~ 'You call yourself an Uchiha' . . . Nice one, Naruto-kun~

Sasuke, now in a sitting position, began to fall back.

Before he could go very far, Kakashi appeared behind him, propping him up with his knee.

~Nice going, Sasuke~

He met your gaze and nodded. You smiled and winked. Sasuke got up and followed Kakashi out of the room.

You sighed and turned your gaze straight ahead. You saw that the Jonin for the Sound ninja was staring intensely at Sasuke.

Your eyes narrowed. As if sensing your dislike, the Jonin's eyes turned to yours.

Your breath caught in your throat.

~Those eyes . . . They look like . . .~

An image of Orochimaru flashed through your head.

The Jonin smirked.

"Kari-chan? Are you ok? You're not breathing," Shiori said leaning towards you.

You turned to your friend, quickly exhaling and breathing normal again.

You smiled.

"I'm fine, Shiori-kun," you lied.

"Liar," he said.

Your smile turned into a frown.

"Stop doing that," you muttered.

"Shiori," said Akira.

You and Shiori turned your attention to the screen.

Shino Aburame vs. Shiori Mekikei

Shiori sighed and jumped down to face his opponent.

~This will be interesting~

Before you could say anything, a sharp pain went throughout your body.

"Ahhh."

You grabbed your left shoulder.

~Sasuke . . . Are you ok? ~

"Kari?" a distant voice called out.

You vaguely nodded your head and grabbed on the railing for support.

Shiori attacked Shino at once with his hands covered in green chakra.

He touched a few of the vital spots gently before shoving his hands into Shino's gut.

Shino flew backwards and lay still.

After a few seconds, his body turned black and bugs were flying away from him.

Shiori once again attacked with a chakra-covered hand and struck Shino in the chest.

Shino once again was thrown away.

After a minute of no movement, the proctor declared Shiori the winner.

"Good job, Shiori," you said.

"Thanks," he said smiling. "You know, I really wanted to fight you."

"Hm?" you asked.

"You make it interesting," he said plainly.

You smiled and watched the next match between Kankuro and Misumi end quickly.

* * *

Woot! Kari and Shiori are both going to the final round! Review and rate to see what happens next! Thanks!

~Kiri-chan


	11. Of Conversations and Memories

Ok, this chapter gets jumpy. . . deal with it :P also POV switching. . . Oh and the mystery of the girl that Kari replaced is somewhat revealed :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto just Kari and my other OCs

* * *

You watched the next few matches with vague interest.

When it was Temari's turn, you paid closer attention.

~She uses a fan, too. But I bet hers is used for Wind Style rather than Fire Style like mine~

You watched the match in silence. When Temari won, you were not too surprised.

When Naruto's turn came, you leaned on the railing.

~I'm not gonna miss a thing~

Kiba attacked and sent Naruto flying instantly.

Kiba turned to the proctor.

"This guy's gonna be out for a while. You can call the match over."

You smiled.

~Never underestimate Naruto Uzumaki . . .~

You saw Naruto start to stir. Sakura turned to you, but your eyes didn't leave Naruto.

~ . . .Or he'll make you regret it~

Naruto stood.

Kiba and Akamaru ran to attack. Naruto prepared himself. Kiba pulled something out of his pouch and threw it at Naruto. Smoke appeared, blocking your view.

~Smoke grenades? ~

Naruto suddenly ran out of the smoke and was immediately attack by Akamaru. The smoke cleared away and you saw Naruto on the floor again and Akamaru running toward Kiba. As Akamaru jumped, you saw his mouth open and clamp down on Kiba's arm.

~ . . .So that's his game, huh? ~

Akamaru disappeared in a puff of smoke and was replaced by Naruto. The Naruto on the ground stood and showed Akamaru in his arms. Kiba shook Naruto off of his arm.

~So he's got both the Shadow Clone and the Transformation Jutsu down . . . Nicely done, Naruto~

Kiba tossed Akamaru a food pill. The dog quickly turned red and more vicious and destroyed Naruto's Shadow Clone as Kiba ate a food pill himself.

~Naruto, you'd better think of something fast~

Akamaru turned into a clone of Kiba. Both of the Kibas had snarling fangs and long claws. They charged, preparing to attack Naruto.

Naruto quickly back flipped before they could hit. Kiba and Akamaru were attacking Naruto at each end. Naruto only had time to dodge, their attacks kept him off balance.

The Man-Beast Clones started to spin rapidly and finally hit Naruto. Naruto landed flat on his face and started to struggle to get up. Kiba taunted him.

"How are you gonna be Hokage by laying flat on your face? I got news for you: I'm gonna be Hokage!" Kiba said before laughing.

~Come on, Naruto. You can do it! ~ you thought.

You gripped the railing tightly, so that your knuckles turned white.

Naruto started to stand again.

"Come on, Naruto! On your feet!" you yelled out.

He slowly stood, and despite the blood dripping down his face, he smiled.

"Sorry, but you can forget about being Hokage, cause I'm the top dog around here!" Naruto said.

Kiba started to repeat attacks again.

Fang Over Fang.

Smoke bombs.

Fang Over Fang again.

Then he began again.

When the smoke cleared the second time, you saw, not two, but three Kibas.

"Way to use your head, Naruto," you said.

Kiba turned to one of the other Kibas and threw a punch. He fell to the floor and turned into Akamaru. Kiba turned again and threw an even more powerful punch at the other Kiba. He also fell to the floor and turned into Akamaru.

"Oh!" you said.

You smiled as the first Akamaru turned into Naruto and attacked Kiba.

"Amazing. When Kiba attacked Naruto, Naruto transformed into Akamaru, so that Kiba would attack the real Akamaru," you said.

~That was brilliant Naruto! ~

"Now I'm gonna show you something I've been saving up for. My super secret killer move," Naruto said.

~I can't wait to see this~

And it seemed that Kiba didn't want to see it. He attacked Naruto with a barrage of shuriken before using his All Fours Jutsu. On his third attack, Naruto grabbed Kiba's arm and threw him across the room.

"I will be Hokage! I won't lose to anyone here," Naruto said.

Kiba attacked again and again. Naruto was knocked to the ground.

"Come on, Naruto!" you yelled.

Naruto slowly got up.

"Alright! Time for my new technique!" he shouted.

Kiba sprinted at him and began to attack from behind.

Then . . .

Naruto farted.

You held back your laugh as you thought to yourself ~Who said Naruto ran out of gas? ~

Naruto made four clones and surrounded Kiba.

One Naruto kicked Kiba and then crouched so another could jump off of his back high into the air. Before Kiba could land, the other three Narutos kicked him upward, saying, "NA-RU-TO."

The real Naruto, in the air, drop kicked Kiba in the face sending him to the floor.

"Uzumaki Barrage!" he yelled.

Kiba lay on the floor in front of Naruto. Naruto's clones disappeared as the proctor walked over to check Kiba.

"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yeah! Way to go, Naruto!" you shouted.

The medics carried Kiba out on a stretcher as Naruto ran up the stairs.

You watched as shy Hinata gave him some healing ointment. When he walked over to you, he smiled.

"That was incredible, Naruto!" you said.

He laughed and scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"Yeah, I know," he replied.

You chuckled.

"Tell you what. After these rounds are over, I'm taking you out to Ichiraku's," you said.

"Oh, really? Awesome!" Naruto shouted.

You crossed your arms.

"But you're paying," you said.

"Aww, Kari-chan," Naruto muttered.

You laughed and turned to the screen to see who fought next.

* * *

After watching Neji, Gaara, and Dosu win their matches against Hinata, Lee, and Choji you weren't too worried.

It was Kozu vs. Zaku for the final match.

The proctor looked at the two opponents facing each other, and said," The twelfth match will now begin."

Zaku started to move one of his arms out of the cast.

"Well, what do you know? It looks like my right arm's got a little movement in it," he said.

Kozu smiled and performed hand signs and disappeared.

"What! Where'd he go?!" Zaku yelled.

He was suddenly pulled under the floor by his ankle.

"Ah! My arms!" he shouted.

Kozu appeared right in front of him.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu," Kozu said smirking.

"I . . . I can't . . . move!" Zaku yelled.

"That's not all!" Kozu said.

He put his hands on the ground and then lifted them up slowly. Then he started moving his hands to each other, as if he were going to clap.

When his hands touched, Zaku screamed and flew out of the hole as it refilled itself. The Sound ninja landed on his arms and was knocked out.

"The winner of the twelfth match is Kozu Sentou," the proctor said after checking Zaku's pulse.

"That was quicker than usual," muttered Shiori.

You nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I commend all those who have moved to the finals of the Chunin Exams. Well, there's one missing, but congratulations," Hayate said to the winners.

Ten of the finalists stood in a straight line in front of the proctor, Lord Hokage, and Ibiki and Anko.

Lord Hokage studied the winners.

~Here, including the absent Sasuke, we have seven ninja from the Leaf Village, three from the Sand Village, and one from the Sound Village. This is going to be very interesting~ he thought.

"Now I am going to explain the final rounds," Lord Hokage said.

* * *

In a shadowy hallway, with a good view of the hospital, a quickly healed Kabuto and Orochimaru stood, conversing of plans.

"I want you to abduct Sasuke," the Sannin told the spy.

"It is unusual for you to act so hastily, is it not?" Kabuto questioned, his glasses glaring in the light.

"Perhaps but there's still a little something that's troubling me," Orochimaru replied.

"Could it be Naruto Uzumaki? Or maybe even Sasuke's sister, Kari Uchiha?" Kabuto asked.

"Sasuke is driven by revenge. He's burning to take down his older brother, Itachi for what he did to their family. He won't rest until he achieves that goal. And yet, when we fought, he came at me without any fear of death, knowing that he would not prevail against me. I didn't think he'd be the type of person willing to die a meaningless death."

Orochimaru paused.

"According to your information, contact with that Nine-Tails boy had altered Sasuke's heart, so much so that Naruto now holds a certain influence over our Sasuke."

"And Kari?"

"She won't want Sasuke to turn on her like her dear older brother did. She will cling to him and show him how much more he can gain by staying in the Leaf. Of course, its nonsense . . . She might not know yet . . . Its the Uchiha's destiny to destroy the Leaf . . . You could almost call it . . . her destiny," Orochimaru said.

"What do you mean?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru looked Kabuto in the face.

"She is the Uchiha's last tessen."

Kabuto was silent.

Then a small smirk appeared on his face.

"That is interesting."

"That's why the thing to do is to remove Sasuke from their influence immediately."

* * *

"In the final rounds, each of you will put your battle skills on display. You will demonstrate the power and control that each of you've achieved in your respective disciplines. Accordingly, the final battles will commence one month from now," Lord Hokage explained.

"Wait, you mean we're not gonna do it right now?" Naruto asked.

"This is to allow a suitable amount of time for preparation," Lord Hokage said.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Neji Hyuuga.

"Simply this. In addition to announcing the conclusion of the preliminary rounds to each country's leaders, we must also have time to prepare and distribute the summons for the selection. Not to mention that you examinees are going to need time to prepare for something this important. Now that you've seen each other's fighting styles, you must think of a strategy to beat those styles. You must also use this month to learn some new tricks and get some rest. Now in a calm orderly fashion, you will draw a piece of paper from the box that Anko has."

"Everyone stay put, I'll come to you," Anko said walking toward you.

When she arrived in front of you, she held out the basket.

"Just take one," she said.

You pulled out a piece of paper.

She went through the whole line quickly.

"Good now everyone has one," Ibiki said. "Going from left to right, tell me the number that's written on your slip of paper."

"I've got seven," you said.

"Number one, of course," said Naruto.

"Nine," said Temari.

"Six," Kankuro said.

Gaara said, "Three."

"Eleven," was Shikamaru's answer.

Neji's was, "Two."

"Five," said Shiori.

"I've got eight," said Kozu.

"I have ten," said Dosu.

"And that means Sasuke will be number four," Ibiki said.

"Right," replied the Third Hokage. "Now I am going to tell you how the final selection tournament is going to work."

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

"Is that what the numbers are for? Drawing lots?" asked Shikamaru.

"Ibiki, you may reveal which ninja will be paired up."

"Yes, sir," said Ibiki, who turned his clipboard to face the finalists.

The paper showed a tournament bracket.

The first battle was between Naruto and Neji.

The second was Gaara and Sasuke.

The third match had Shiori and Kankuro paired up and the fourth was between you and Kozu.

The fifth match was Dosu and Shikamaru. The winner of that match would face Temari.

~I get to fight Kozu? ~

You looked at your teammate down the row. His face was serious, but you saw that his eyes were twinkling with delight.

~I can see why. No Akira-sensei to interfere this time~

"May I ask a question?" Shikamaru asked raising his hand.

"You may," replied Lord Hokage.

"If this is a tournament, does that mean that only one of us will become a Chunin?"

"On the contrary, there will be several judges for the final round, including myself, the shinobi leaders, and the Kazekage, the lords from the various countries that will be assigning missions to you. The judges will make a thorough evaluation of your abilities, deciding whether any or all of you possess the qualities desired of a Chunin. Even someone who loses in the first round could become a Chunin. Now, I thank you all for your patience. We will adjourn until next month."

* * *

As you and Naruto walked out of the building together, you turned to him.

"Naruto, let's go visit Sasuke," you said.

"Ok, let's go," he said.

You arrived at the hospital and walked straight to the front desk.

"Excuse me, can you tell what room Sasuke Uchiha is in?" you asked politely.

"I'm sorry. No visitors allowed," the lady said in a preppy voice.

"But I'm his sister," you argued while Naruto complained in the background.

"I'm sorry. That's the rules," she said again.

"What kind of hospital is this?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto this is a hospital, keep it down," Kakashi said walking into the main room.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said running over to him. "Boy, am I glad to see you. I gotta ask you a favor."

"Stop right there, I know what you're going to ask, so I've been looking for someone that can oversee your training for the final rounds," Kakashi said as Naruto's face dropped before he even finished talking.

You sighed.

~Naruto's busy. I guess we'll talk later~

You silently walked away and out the hospital door.

For some reason, even though your whole team, your best friend, and your brother all made it to the final rounds, you felt depressed.

~Maybe its because I always wanted my brother to watch me do this. Itachi was always like that with Sasuke and me~

You sighed again.

"You know, for making it to the final rounds, you don't seem very happy."

You whirled around.

"Akira-sensei! Hi," you said smiling.

"Hello, Kari. Shiori and Kozu went home to tell their families, so I thought I'd help you celebrate," your sensei said.

You smiled for real this time.

"Thanks, Sensei. That's . . . That's really nice of you," you said.

"Come on. I've got coupons for dumplings," Akira said, waving said coupons in his hand.

"All right!" you said.

You and Akira sat in a booth away from the other customers.

"Akira-sensei?"

"Yeah?" he replied.

You looked down, embarrassed.

"I-I was wondering if you could . . . Umm . . . You know . . . Tell me about . . . her?" you stammered, referring to the girl whose place you had taken.

When you looked up, Akira was a little tenser than normal.

"Yeah . . . Yeah, I will . . . Her name was Tsukimono Isamashii. We called her Tsuki. Everyone did. She was one of those girls. Beautiful, smart, strong, mouthy, the popular type," he looked you in the eye. "You remind me of her sometimes."

You blushed slightly.

"She was the smart one on our group. Always thinking of strategies, figuring out codes, and trying to blind sight the enemy. She was handy when we were on spy missions.

"She liked Shiori. A lot. He hardly ever noticed it, he was too busy training or teasing Kozu. And then Kozu liked her, but she didn't like him that way."

You nodded. It sounded like Naruto's group. Sakura liked Sasuke, but he never noticed her and Naruto liked Sakura, but she never noticed him. The Love Triangle, you called it.

Your sensei sighed.

"There's not too much to tell. After she . . . After the incident," he changed the context. "Her family moved away. They took her, but they left a gravestone for her here, so we could visit her."

"I'm sorry," you muttered.

"You have right to know. You are taking her place on the team after all," Akira said.

You nodded slowly.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," you said cautiously.

"Well, you'd think after having your whole family killed, you'd spend more time with the one member you have left," Akira said slowly.

You glanced up at him and quickly looked back down.

"That's not a question," you muttered.

"Why aren't you as close to Sasuke as you are with your friends?" he asked.

You were silent, looking around the room.

"Sasuke cares only about revenge," you said tonelessly. "He has no time for family ties."

"And what do you feel about your older brother?" Akira asked.

You looked Akira in the eye. You saw only curiosity and a willingness to help.

"I love Itachi," you whispered. "He was there for all the things a brother should be there for."

Your eyes narrowed.

"He was also there for everything my father was supposed to be there for."

"So Itachi, in your eyes, was more than a brother to you."

"He was the perfect brother, the perfect friend. He let me train with him. We could talk about anything."

You closed your eyes.

"Before he started changing, he made me promises; promises that he didn't keep. That he would always be there for me. That he would watch me become a Chunin and even a Jonin. That he would teach me new jutsu. That he-" your breath caught in your throat. You tried to breathe slowly. "That he would always love me, no matter what."

Your sensei studied you. You were about to start crying.

"Well. He kept one promise. He taught me a Shuriken Jutsu that he never taught Sasuke. He showed me how to do it on any terrain, in any weather, no matter what the conditions were," you said, trying to smile.

But the tears came anyway. Silent, salty tears slid down your face, leaving wet trails on your cheeks.

You wiped them away.

When your face was back to normal, Akira paid the bill and took you outside.

"Thanks, Akira-sensei. For everything," you said.

"You don't talk about that stuff much, do you?" he asked.

You shook your head.

"If you talk to your friends, Naruto, Shiori, and Kozu, about it, you'll feel better," he said.

"Maybe," you muttered. See ya later, Sensei."

"Goodbye, Kari," Akira said as you walked away.

* * *

Awh. . . I love it when Akira and Kari have heart to heart talks. . . so sweet ^_^ Rate and review.

~Kiri-chan


	12. Midnight Swim

Just a little chemistry between Naruto and Kari going on ;) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just Kari and my other OCs.

* * *

For the next two weeks, you trained alone. You would read the scrolls that you found in the Nakano Shrine, learning more jutsu that you could use with your fan.

Sometimes you would experiment. You would try to make new fire style jutsu, or combine two that already existed. It kept you busy enough, and even when you were eating, you would be writing down ideas or rereading the scrolls.

One night when you couldn't sleep, you decided to go for a swim. You put on your swimsuit and grabbed a towel.

On your way to the stream, you passed by a familiar house.

~I haven't seen Naruto in forever . . .~

You stopped, debating your choices.

Finally, you jumped to his windowsill and looked inside. He was sleeping soundly, his back turned toward you. You knocked on the glass.

He turned over and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Kari-chan?"

He walked over to the window and opened it.

"Hey, Naruto-kun. I was going for a midnight swim and I wondered if you wanted to join me. Since we've been busy and all . . ." you said.

His eyes were no longer sleepy. They sparkled even in the dim light.

"Give me a sec, Kari-chan. I'll meet you downstairs," he said.

You smiled and jumped off the window, landing right in front of his door. Naruto was there in less than a minute. As you were getting ready to leave, you had an idea.

"Hey, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah?"

"I have a small lake in my area of the village. Let's go there," you said.

"Whatever. Let's just go," he said smiling.

You led the way, back to where you lived. When you reached the lake, the moon was high overhead. You dropped your towel and dived into the cool water. When you surfaced, there were new ripples about a foot away. Naruto had dived right in after you. You looked around, trying to tread water and look for him and the same time.

Something grabbed your waist and pulled you under.

You turned your head to see Naruto smiling his big goofy grin, trying to pull you deeper under the water. You smiled as well and quickly slipped free of his arms. He chased you around the small lake, which didn't seem so small underwater.

You swam to the bottom and hid behind large rocks in small corners. You skimmed the bottom of the lake, awed at the way the rocks glittered in the water because of the moon. Naruto followed your every move, enjoying it all just like you, letting it all sink in just like you.

When you finally came up gasping for air, Naruto came up right beside you. You looked at your best friend and smiled. He smiled and swam for shore, pulling himself up onto the dock when he reached it. When you climbed up, you saw him laying flat on his back, his eyes staring at the moon. He sat up and before he even blinked, you were running toward him at top speed. You jumped on him and gave him the biggest hug of his life.

Naruto fell back onto the dock with your arms around his neck and his around your lower back. Naruto chuckled, a pleasant, throaty sound that you heard rarely. You raised your head from his shoulder and you were surprised to see his face so close to yours. He noticed it, too.

You both blushed and quickly moved away. You chanced a glance at his face.

Naruto's cerulean orbs reflected the stars that shone overhead, and your ebony irises were lighter than usual as well.

You slowly rolled to one side, releasing his neck from your arms. You lay on your back, and he on his, on the dock beside a lake. The rest of the night, you watched the stars twinkle, winking at you and Naruto. You both fell asleep before the sky got lighter, you curled up by his side and his arms wrapped around you, holding you close.

* * *

Your eyes slowly opened the next morning, blinking furiously in the bright light. You felt arms around you and turned to your right. You saw Naruto's still, sleeping figure, and the previous night came rushing back to you. You smiled. Naruto woke seconds later.

"Good morning," you whispered.

"Morning," he replied.

He smiled.

You sat up slowly and stretched.

"Wow. Look at the sun. Its late in the day," you said looking straight up in the sky to see the sun.

"AH, MAN!" Naruto yelled. "I'm LATE! Pervy Sage is gonna kill me!"

He picked up his towel and started to run off. He stopped and jogged in place a little before running back.

"I'm really sorry, Kari-chan. I gotta go train. I had a great time last night. Thanks for everything. Bye!" he said running off again.

You sighed and then laughed.

~All in one breath, too. Heh~

You stood and picked up your towel, too. You threw it in the laundry room and went to your room to change.

* * *

"You are late!" yelled Jiraiya at Naruto.

"I'm sorry. Sorry," Naruto said. "I overslept."

Jiraiya gave him a look.

"You went home early yesterday, complaining that you were tired. You can't have been that sleepy!" he said loudly.

"So I got my rest and went swimming last night. Big deal," Naruto said crossing his arms.

"Swimming?"

"Yeah. Kari-chan came over and said she was going swimming. She asked me to come with her so I did," Naruto said.

Jiraiya had a devious smile on as he asked his next question.

"So . . . You went swimming . . . In the middle of the night . . .With a girl?"

Naruto blushed the slightest bit.

"Yeah."

The two stared at each other for a while until Naruto broke the silence.

"Can we get on with my training?"

* * *

You smiled in satisfaction at the burned tree stump in front of you.

~Ok . . . I got that one down. Now all I have to do is practice that Shuriken Jutsu . . . Wait a second! ~

You thought about your newly hatched idea.

~That's it! I know exactly how to make that technique my own! ~

When you finished training that day, you looked around the grounds. Trees were burned; some had shuriken and kunai sticking in them. Grass was scorched and there were many holes in the ground.

~Jeez . . . I really tore this place to pieces . . .~

You sighed and collected the scattered kunai and shuriken, then you went home.

"I haven't seen Sasuke since the preliminaries. I wonder if he's ok . . ."

You looked up to the sky.

~Tomorrow's the day . . . My day to shine~

That night you polished your fan and put new kunai and shuriken in your pouch. You placed your fan in its bag and laid it on the floor beside your bed. Before you blew out the candle that lit the room, you looked at your bedside table. Three picture fames sat on the table.

The first frame was of you and your team. You stood in the middle of the picture with Kozu and Shiori on either side of you. Shiori had his arms crossed but he still wore a smile on his face. Kozu had his hands in his pockets and was also grinning. Akira-sensei stood behind you and the boys. He was leaning forward and his hands rested on Shiori and Kozu's heads. You had one hand on your hip and the other held up in a peace sign. Your face was bright and cheery.

You smiled and looked to the next picture.

It was a picture of you and Naruto, taken just last year. The two of you had an arm wrapped around the other's neck. Naruto's eyes were wide open, his cerulean eyes twinkling with mischief.

You chuckled before moving your gaze to the oldest picture of the three.

It was a family picture.

Fugaku Uchiha stood in the left side of the photo, his arms crossed, the scowl on his face prominent. Mikoto Uchiha stood next to her husband, her smile bright and warm as always. Her arms rested on Sasuke's shoulders in a supportive gesture. Sasuke stood between his parents, a small smile on his young face. On the right side of the picture stood Itachi. He too, had a smile on his face, but only because you had made him laugh right before the picture was taken. Between Itachi and Mikoto stood you. You wore the black sundress that had been your favorite at that age. It was a spaghetti strap and it fluttered at your knees. The smile on your face and the twinkle in your eyes matched the other two pictures.

Your smile softened and quickly became nonexistent as tears formed in your eyes. You blew out the candle before hiding under the blanket and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Sorry this one was short. . . Rate and Review! I'll love you forevah!

~Kiri-chan


	13. The Final Rounds Begin

Ok the final exams have begun! I didn't go into much detail about the other battles but I think you'll survive. Sorry that this chapter's a little long ^_^' I guess I just don't know when to stop writing. . .

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Just Kari Uchiha and my other OCs.

* * *

"Where is he? It's not like him to be late for something important like this," you said.

"Calm down, Kari-chan. Naruto will be here soon," Shiori said.

"Yeah. Just chill, Kari-chan," Kozu added.

"Well everyone else besides Sasuke is already here," you muttered.

You were standing with your team and the other finalists in the center of the arena where the final stage of the Exams were to be held.

The battle area had a different terrain than the preliminary rounds area. Trees were growing next to the wall farthest from the stands, and little patches of grass were growing in the dry dirt. You looked up to the stands that were being filled with newcomers every minute. Near the top of the stands was a VIP box, where the Hokage and Kazekage would be viewing the tournament.

A Jonin appeared next to the proctor and whispered something in his ear.

"Hai," the proctor muttered. The Jonin turned to you.

"Kari Uchiha, could you come with me for a minute?"

"Huh? Oh, sure," you said. You followed him to the stairway that lead up to the top box.

"What's this about?" you asked.

"Lord Hokage has a question for you. It won't take too long," he replied.

"Oh."

You reached the top box and the guards approved the Jonin and you.

"Lord Hokage, I brought Kari Uchiha," the Jonin said, bowing respectfully.

"Thank you," the Hokage replied.

You stepped in front of the Hokage and bowed.

"Hello, Kari," he said.

"Hello, Lord Hokage," you replied.

"Have you seen your brother recently?" he asked.

"No. He's been out training a lot. I haven't seen him at home, either. I'm sorry," you answered.

The old man sighed and looked away from you.

"I see. Thank you," he said thoughtfully.

You bowed once again.

"Good luck, Kari," he added.

"Thanks," you said turning away.

You walked toward the doorway, but you moved to the side almost instantly. Two guards were escorting a figure in a white robe.

~The Kazekage . . .~

You moved out of the way even more to let the guards through, and you bowed your head respectfully as the Kazekage walked through the door.

You glanced up as he walked by, and you were surprised to see that he was staring at you. You looked back down quickly, and as soon as his second guard was through the door, you slipped through and ran down the stairs to the arena.

"Naruto. You made it," you said happily as you saw Naruto and Shikamaru standing next to each other.

"Yeah, barely. Where were you at?" he asked.

"Lord Hokage wanted to know where Sasuke was," you shrugged.

"Knock it off you guys. Stand up straight and present yourselves to the spectators," the proctor said.

You turned to the crowd. They were cheering loudly, clapping their hands, and standing up.

"You guys are the heroes of this final competition."

* * *

You followed Shiori and Kozu up the stairway to watch Naruto's match against Neji.

The match began quickly. Naruto started out with a frontal attack and was immediately blocked by Neji.

~Naruto, you idiot. You have to attack from a distance! ~

Naruto backed away from Neji and formed a hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

~There we go! ~

The Shadow Clones attacked, but Neji destroyed them one by one.

Naruto made even more Shadow Clones this time.

"Woah . . ." you muttered.

Over twenty Shadow Clones ran toward Neji and attacked.

~Neji's got a perfect defense . . . With that Byakugan . . .~

Neji ran toward one of the Narutos.

~That's the one that was standing out . . . Naruto, come on~

The other Shadow Clones disappeared in puffs of smoke, one at a time. The Naruto that Neji had attacked looked up and disappeared. Two Narutos jumped at Neji from behind.

"Nice move, Naruto," you said.

Before you could blink, Naruto and his clone were thrown away from Neji.

~Wait. What happened? ~

Neji now stood in a perfectly circular dent with Naruto on the ground a few feet away. Naruto got up and made more Shadow Clones surrounding attacked again, and this time, you saw Neji's move. He spun around sending chakra out of his body, forming a shield that not only blocked an attack, but also repelled it.

"Amazing," you murmured.

Neji took a different stance. Then he charged at Naruto, attacking his chakra points, cutting off his chakra and rendering him helpless. Naruto flew backwards once more.

~Naruto . . .~

"What the-"

Naruto was standing.

"Yes!"

You smiled. Naruto's determination now brought back your memory of when you first met him.

* * *

_'I'll be Hokage! Believe it!' a little boy was yelling at a large group of kids._

_'Whatever, Naruto. You're such a loser!'_

_'Yeah! Just go away!'_

_The boy's head dropped as the others walked off, laughing._

_When he looked up, there was a girl his size standing in front of him. Her dark, ebony hair was in a ponytail. She was staring at him with large black eyes that held curiosity in their depths. Her black dress fluttered at her knees as she took a step forward._

_'Hi. My name's Kari. You're Naruto, right?' she asked holding out a hand._

_Naruto stared at the hand, and tentatively shook it with his own._

_'Yeah, that's me,' he said slowly._

_'Wanna be friends?' she asked cheerfully._

_Naruto's eyes widened at the boldness of this girl._

_He smiled and raised his hands behind his head._

_'Yeah! We'll be best friends!' Naruto said._

_Kari laughed._

_'I like you, Naruto,' she said._

_'I like you, too, Kari-chan,' Naruto said._

* * *

You were brought back into reality quickly. Neji had charged at Naruto again. Naruto was thrown back once again.

"Proctor! Its over!" Neji said.

He started to walk away.

"Don't walk away from me," Naruto said as he struggled to get up.

"I don't quit and I don't go back on my word. That's my nindo, my ninja way," Naruto said.

~Let's go, Naruto! ~

You saw Naruto close his eyes and concentrate.

~What is he doing? ~

Neji tried once more to convince the proctor to stop the match. Naruto made a hand sign.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," he shouted.

Your eyes opened wide in shock as red chakra swirled around Naruto.

~The Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra?!~

"Yeah! Kick his butt, Naruto!" you shouted.

Naruto disappeared in a flash. He was suddenly up in the air behind Neji with shuriken in hand. He threw the shuriken and the attack was blocked by Neji's Rotation. Neji counterattacked with more shuriken.

"Woah . . ."

Naruto jumped off the wall and dodged the attack.

~He's . . . He's fast! ~

Naruto appeared right beside Neji, who barely dodged Naruto's punch. They both jumped back and threw kunai at the other. The kunai collided and flew into the opposite direction. Neji and Naruto jumped into the air after their kunai knives and landed where the other had been seconds ago.

Naruto charged once again, his chakra tearing up the ground beneath him. Neji used Rotation once more, and the two collided, ending in an explosion. When the smoke cleared away, you saw two large holes in the ground.

"What just happened?" Kozu asked.

"I . . . I don't know," you muttered.

After a few seconds, Neji burst out of his hole.

"Oh no . . ." you whispered.

He stumbled over to the hole that Naruto was laying in. You heard a strange sound and saw the ground in front of Neji start to crack. A fist shot through the air and connected with Neji's chin. Naruto landed and watched Neji fly backwards and crash to the ground.

~How did he . . .~

You turned your gaze to the hole where another Naruto lay. It disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing a tunnel that obviously led to the place where Neji had been standing.

~He's brilliant! ~

Naruto walked over to Neji.

"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!" the proctor said.

The crowd was on its feet, cheering for Naruto.

~That's right, Uzumaki . . . They are cheering for you . . . You and only you~

You smiled as you watched Naruto run around cheering and blowing kisses to the audience.

~Naruto-kun . . . You are such a knucklehead! ~

* * *

"Where is Sasuke, anyway?" asked Kozu.

"If I knew, I would tell you," you muttered.

The crowd was getting on your nerves. They were shouting out to start the next match and other various complaints.

~Why would Sasuke miss this? I know he's been training like crazy because I haven't seen him at all . . . Unless . . .~

You remembered the words Orochimaru had said to you and Sakura after he had bitten Sasuke.

`Sasuke will come to me, desiring my power`

You shook your head.

~Sasuke would never do that . . . Right? ~

"Listen, everyone," the proctor said to the crowd. "One of the competitors for the next battle has not arrived yet. So we are going to postpone it and continue with the next match."

Shiori sighed.

"I guess I'm up," he said.

"Ok. Next up are Shiori and Kankuro. Come on down here," the proctor called.

"Proctor! I withdraw!" shouted out Kankuro.

"Huh?" you asked.

"I withdraw. Please continue to the next match," he shouted.

~What the-~

You looked at Shiori who shrugged and turned back to the arena.

~Why would he withdraw? ~

The crowd was shouting protests and jeering at the puppet master. They wanted to see a fight.

"Due to Kankuro's withdrawal, Shiori Mekikei wins by default," the proctor said.

"Hey, Kari. Its just you and me, now," Kozu said as he pointed his thumb at his chest with a smirk on his face.

"Don't think that I'm gonna go easy on you just because you're on my team, Kozu-kun," you said.

"Ok, Kari Uchiha and Kozu Sentou. Please come down," the proctor called.

You transported to your spot in front of the proctor while Kozu jumped over the edge of the balcony. He walked over to you and stuck out his hand.

"Good luck," he said.

You smiled and shook his hand.

"Thanks, but keep it. You're gonna need all the luck you can get," you teased.

Kozu dropped his hand and took a few steps back. You copied the movement and waited for the proctor's go-ahead.

"Let the match between Kari and Kozu begin!"

Kozu formed hand signs at once.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu!"

A large wall of earth rose from the ground beneath Kozu. On your side of the wall, you saw rocks start falling down toward you.

~He's trying that trick, huh? ~

You jumped up, using the boulders as stepping-stones for you to reach your opponent. As you got closer, you drew your fan. You were suddenly in front of a surprised Kozu and you were swinging your fan like a club.

It hit Kozu in the side, and he flew off of the wall. He flipped in the air and his feet landed on the wall. Using that momentum, he shot himself back at you. You ducked and dodged as Kozu landed on the wall next to you and attempted to dropkick you.

"Come on, Kozu! You haven't even touched me!" you called to him.

Kozu growled and sent a barrage of punches and kicks in your direction, which you dodged. You jumped high into the air, pulling out your fan and waving it across your body, yelling, "Fire Style: Flaming Fan Jutsu!"

Kozu dodged by pressing his hands against his earth shield, pushing it back into the ground. You flipped in the air and pushed yourself to the wall, focusing your chakra at your feet to run down the wall at top speed. When you neared the ground, you jumped off of the wall landing a few meters away from Kozu.

He made hand signs and shouted out, "Earth Clone Jutsu!"

Eight clones appeared and surrounded you, preparing to attack. You looked around the circle then closed your eyes. You jumped high into the air, using your momentum to turn upside down and continually rotate, while you pulled out eight kunai knives, four for each hand.

You crossed your arms so that your hands were close to your face.

Your eyes opened and you released the kunai in your right hand one by one and then released all but two in your left hand. You switched a kunai over to your right hand behind your back, and then threw those as well before landing in a crouched position to watch the kunai fly to their targets.

The two kunai you had thrown last knocked another two toward their targets as well, resulting in every kunai shooting at the targets. You weren't too surprised that all of Kozu's clones caught the kunai knife that was flying toward them. You raised your right hand with your index and middle finger pointing upward, with the others curled under your thumb, and shouted,"Katsu!" The exploding tags wrapped around the handles of the kunai knives exploded, causing smoke to fill the arena.

The crowd stared in awe at the thick, almost-black smoke that had started to clear away. They saw you standing in the middle of the arena.

"Fire Style: Dance of Bakuhatsu!" you said with a smirk on your face.

Your gaze shifted around the battlegrounds, looking for Kozu.

"Found you!" you muttered as you formed more hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A great mass of fire hurtled toward a group of trees. They burned in the intense heat, and when you released the jutsu, Kozu was nowhere to be found.

"Where on earth is he?" you murmured to yourself.

You felt something beneath your feet, and you jumped away in time to escape Kozu's hand coming out of the ground.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" Kozu yelled as the rest of him popped out of the earth as well.

You both stopped, standing just meters away from each other, breathing heavily.

~I'm almost out of chakra . . . I know that Kozu is . . . His Mud Wall takes up a ton of chakra . . . I need to trap him to win . . . But how? ~

You and Kozu stared at each other, still breathing heavily. He still hadn't even scratched you. He was burned slightly on his arms and his sleeveless hoodie was singed as well.

~I got it! ~

You quickly back flipped as you had done in the preliminaries, hiding your hand signs from Kozu.

"Oh no you don't!" Kozu yelled when you landed.

He turned and attacked you sneaking up on him from behind. You disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"A Shadow Clone!?"

You threw a handful of kunai around him. The wires connecting the kunai pulled together and hit the wall. Kozu was trapped in a makeshift net of wires. He tried to reach his pouch, but he was unsuccessful.

"Gotcha," you said walking up to him.

You stopped a foot away and heard him sigh and look you in the face.

"How?" he asked.

"I knew you would remember that trick from the preliminaries, so I pulled it again, only this time I switched it. The real me landed from the back flip while the shadow clone attacked from behind," you said shrugging your shoulders. "Not my best trap, but I didn't have a whole lot of time. I managed to triple the wire, though, that way, its not just one thin strand holding you down."

Kozu sighed and turned to the proctor.

"I'm not gonna get out of this, so I give up, too," he said.

The proctor nodded his head and turned to the crowd.

"The winner of the match is Kari Uchiha!"

As the crowd cheered and made noise, you pulled out the kunai from the wall, letting Kozu stand. You stuffed the kunai back in your pouch and turned to Kozu.

"You did great, Kozu," you said with a smile on your face.

"Thanks, Kari. You were too bad either," he teased.

You laughed and waved to the cheering crowd, walking with Kozu back to the competitor's box.

* * *

You watched Shikamaru practically beat Temari, and then at the last second, give up.

You sighed.

~He always was pretty lazy . . .~

You watched Naruto jump down and start yelling at Shikamaru for giving up.

"So, where is Sasuke, Kari?" asked Shiori.

"I have no idea. He has never been this late for anything before," you replied.

Your thoughts from before started to drift back into your head again. You shook your head.

~Sasuke would never do that . . . Not even to kill Itachi . . .~

You looked up to the sky and frowned.

~ . . . But . . . Maybe I don't know Sasuke that well . . .~

You vaguely heard the crowd shouting out for Sasuke.

~They're getting restless again . . .~

Ten minutes later, the proctor looked up.

"Ok, time's up. The time limit has expired. So I'm officially calling this match-"

"He's here," you said.

Kozu and Shiori looked to you and then back to the arena. In a whirlwind of leaves, two figures appeared on the battlegrounds back to back. Sasuke Uchiha had arrived.

~What happened to his hair? It's so long! ~

Sasuke's bangs had grown. His shirt was now black and he wore bandages around his legs with black straps around them. He wore a different kind of arm warmer than before, it was now short, covering only his elbow, and brown.

The crowd was on its feet, cheering for Sasuke. Sasuke turned his gaze to the competitor's box. You locked eyes with him. You smiled and nodded.

~Yeah, I won. I'm an Uchiha after all~

He smirked, his unasked question answered with your nod. Your eyes narrowed. He turned his gaze away, not wanting to see the rebuke in your eyes for his lateness. You sighed.

~Of course, Sasuke's here, so Naruto and Shikamaru are already yesterday's news . . . Just like me, I bet . . . Its always been like that . . .~

You watched Gaara turn around and walk downstairs.

"Well . . . Here we go," you murmured.

* * *

Bakuhatsu- Japanese for explosion, detonation, or eruption

Katsu- same word that Deidara uses in the manga to set off his explosives

Woot! Kari kicked Kozu's BUTT! I didn't go into much detail about the battles and I'm sorry but I figured if you watch the TV show then you know what happened and I don't need to tell you again. Rate and Review!

~Kiri-chan


	14. Itachi Returns

Some POV switching in this one. . . um. . . Read, Rate, and Review! Pleasies!

* * *

Sasuke and Gaara stared at each other while the proctor explained the rules for Sasuke.

You strained to see the mark on your brother's neck, but the competitor's box was too far away.

~ . . . I don't know what it is or what it does . . . But its bound to be bad considering that it came from Orochimaru~

The proctor shouted out, "Begin!" and then jumped back.

Sand immediately started to filter out of Gaara's gourd and float around his head. You heard murmuring from the strange Sand ninja, so you assumed he was talking to himself. Gaara grabbed his head with both hands, as if her were in pain, and the sand dropped all around him. He stood like that for another few seconds, before returning to his normal position: Standing straight up with his arms crossed.

Sasuke attacked and threw a couple of shuriken at Gaara, who caught the attack with his sand shield. The sand started to form a shape.

~A . . . A Sand Clone? ~

The Sand Gaara threw an enormous amount of sand at Sasuke, who dodged by jumping high into the air. Sasuke threw a kunai at Gaara, while the Sand clone threw the shuriken that Sasuke had thrown earlier to deflect the attack. Sasuke twisted in the air as he fell, kicking the Sand Gaara in the chest while turned sideways.

He turned the upper part of his body, and using his hands to balance and turn himself, he jumped back up again and threw his arm at Sand Gaara's neck. Sand started to trap Sasuke's wrist and when struggling didn't work, he threw another punch at Sand Gaara's head, destroying the clone.

Sasuke ran to attack and as he threw his punch, Gaara's shield came up to block. At the last second, Sasuke stopped and turned the slightest bit before disappearing.

~He's gone! ~

Sasuke appeared behind Gaara and punched him in the face with incredible speed. Gaara flew back, his sand softening his fall. Sasuke charged again, dodging and ducking under Gaara's shield to kick Gaara across the arena. Sasuke ran towards Gaara and ran circles around him.

~ . . . He used his Sharingan to copy Lee's speed . . . So he must have been training on his speed this past month . . .~

Sasuke then flipped and kicked Gaara in the chest, grabbed the strap that held onto his gourd and kicked him in the chest. Gaara stood, and made a hand sign.

Sand started to gather around him, forming a large ball of sand. Sasuke charged and tried to attack before the ball was finished, but as he prepared to punch, spikes came out from the ball, stopping Sasuke in his tracks. Sasuke jumped back, and the spikes returned to the sand, making a smooth surface. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and attacked the sphere of sand with everything he had.

You frowned.

~What is this . . . This feeling? Something bad is going to happen . . . And I don't think its about the match . . .~

You focused your chakra and tried to sense what was giving you that feeling. You felt a familiar chakra. You looked up into the stands to see who it was.

~ANBU Black Ops? What are they doing here? And why does this one's chakra seem so familiar . . . Like I've fought it before? ~

Shiori sensed your sudden tightness.

"What's wrong?" he asked so that only you and Kozu could hear.

"Something's not right," you replied. "There are ANBU Black Ops here . . . And one of them has familiar chakra . . . Like I've fought it before . . ."

Shiori and Kozu looked around as well.

"I felt it before too," Kozu muttered.

"In the Forest of Death?" asked Shiori.

You nodded.

"Most likely. But we didn't fight any ANBU in the forest."

You watched Sasuke flip backwards and jump up to the top of the wall. He made hand signs and grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and waited.

"What the!"

You saw blue chakra forming in Sasuke's hand. It looked like lightning and you could hear a faint sound coming from it, like chirping birds. He started to run down the wall. When he reached the ground, he was running even faster.

"Amazing . . ." you muttered.

~Hatake . . . Of course. Konoha's White Fang was Kakashi's father . . . Then Kakashi Hatake made this jutsu . . . I remember Akira-sensei warning me that Kakashi might teach this to Sasuke . . .Chidori~

The attack penetrated Gaara's shield easily.

You sighed. Your teammates looked to you.

"Now I have to come up with an awesome visible chakra technique to beat Sasuke's Chidori," you said.

You heard a piecing scream coming from the ball of sand.

"BLOOD! ITS MY BLOOD!"

Sasuke struggled to pull his arm out of the sphere. When he did, something else came out, too; something big.

"What is that?" Kozu asked.

It was a large hand, a light brown color, with claws. It pulled itself back into the sand, leaving a small hole in the sphere. The sphere then melted, the sand falling to the ground. Gaara stood there with his hand covering his bleeding shoulder, breathing heavily.

"Wait a second . . ." you muttered.

"What is it, Kari-chan?"

You frowned once more.

"In the stands . . . Its like everyone's sleeping . . ." you said. Your eyes widened. "Genjutsu!"

"I sense it, too," Shiori said as Kozu nodded.

You heard an explosion from the VIP box.

"Lord Hokage!" you said.

"What's going on?" asked Kozu.

"Konoha is being attacked," you said.

Temari and Kankuro called out Gaara's name and jumped into the arena. You paid no attention to the arena below. A purple barrier had appeared on the roof of the top box.

~ . . . Lord Hokage~

"Let's go," you said jumping off of the balcony to a nearby wall.

Your team followed you as you landed near Akira-sensei. An ANBU Black Ops stood next to four sound ninja.

"He's the one from before," you muttered loud enough for only your team to hear.

"What do you mean?" your sensei asked.

"I've felt his chakra before in the Forest of Death and the preliminaries, too," you said.

You heard Guy, Kakashi, and Akira conversing quietly. You suddenly recognized a sinister chakra.

"No. . ." you murmured. Your eyes widened and your body froze.

~No. . . Please, no. . . Not again~

"Kari?"

"Kakashi, Akira, look! The barrier!" Guy said.

You slowly turned your head and focused on the two figures.

~Please, not him! Anyone but him! I have to find Sasuke! ~

"Orochimaru," Kakashi said.

"No," you said, slouching to the floor.

"Shiori. Give it to her. We need Kari to be in top condition if we are under attack," Akira said urgently.

"Hai!" Shiori said.

He pulled out a needle, and gave you a shot. You quickly calmed down and your breathing slowed. A Sound ninja charged at you, taking advantage of your weakness. You drew a kunai and threw it, striking the Sound Nin in the chest. You stood and narrowed your eyes at the ANBU Black Ops. You ran toward him, taking out groups of Sound Nin on your way. You flipped and twisted, kicking one and punching another. You finally appeared on the railing behind the ANBU with a kunai on his neck.

"Who are you?" you asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he replied as another Sound Nin started to fight with you.

You focused your chakra, balancing on the railing while fighting the Sound Nin. The rest of your team was busy fighting their own battles, and you saw Sakura running towards a knocked out Naruto and Shikamaru. You felt a chakra presence behind you and you turned to kick. Your foot impacted on the Sound Nin and you turned again to get rid of the other one, too. You kick him off of the stands and he landed hard on the arena. You turned once again to the ANBU imposter. He had two Sound Nin next to him and a pile of Ninja Info Cards in his hands.

~Wait a second! Ninja Info Cards! It's Kabuto! ~

Another enemy started to attack you. You pulled out a kunai with an exploding tag on it and you threw it at him. He caught it and you kicked him off the edge.

As he fell, you made the hand sign and shouted,"Katsu!"

The bomb exploded, shaking the stands a little.

"Don't overdo it, Kari!" Akira-sensei yelled at you.

You smiled and continued on your way to Kabuto.

He turned to you as you shouted out, "I've got you now!"

He jumped on the railing and flipped over the edge. You followed and pulled out a kunai while you fell. You landed in front of him.

"Do you really think you can beat me," you asked as you turned to face him. "Kabuto?"

He pulled the mask away from his face for a few seconds.

"Sharp as usual, huh, Kari?"

"Got that right," you said sinking into a low position.

"But do you really think I'd even be walking around after that jutsu you used on me, even now?" he asked replacing the mask. "Unless . . . "

"What are you talking about?" you asked angrily.

"That jutsu you used on me . . . It should have given me burns that would eventually fade into scars, burns that should have kept me in the hospital for weeks on end, burns that if not treated immediately, might have been fatal," he said spreading out his hands.

You remembered seeing him after the match. His skin had only been slightly burnt, and a little red as well.

Your eyes widened.

"You're a . . . A medic nin!" you said.

"Very good. I'm surprised you didn't think of it sooner. Don't you remember your arms hurting after I only tapped them?" he asked.

You also remembered the pain shooting up your arms, after only feeling light taps.

"That's right. I was using my medical jutsu to hit your joints, causing you pain," Kabuto said. "The second you started that fire jutsu, I started healing myself by creating new cells all over my body to take the place of the ones you were burning. Of course, I couldn't complete it, as you saw by the slight burns, but it wasn't fatal, and I was walking again in less than an hour."

~Let's see you heal from this then! ~

You threw the kunai and immediately made your hand sign, shouting out, "Katsu!"

Kabuto dodged the kunai and the explosion as well.

"You're forgetting, I watched your whole match and I've fought you myself. I know your fighting style, but you don't know mine," Kabuto said.

You narrowed your eyes. He was right. You needed help. You needed . . .

"Kari!"

"Kari-chan!"

"Kozu! Shiori!"

Your teammates landed on either side of you in fighting positions.

"You guys came just in time," you said with a grin on your face.

"Yeah, so let's beat this guy already!" Kozu said.

"Ok! Shiori!"

"Got it!"

Shiori made some hand signs and started to disappear.

"Kozu!"

"I'm on it!"

Kozu made hand signs and he too disappeared. You ran towards Kabuto as a distraction. You fought hand to hand for a while, trying to avoid his chakra-covered hands.

~About time, Shiori~

Kabuto was trapped in a Genjutsu, most likely Tree Capture Death. You saw Shiori thrown aside and felt the Genjutsu break. Kabuto was suddenly pulled underground and Kozu was standing in front of his head.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" Kozu said.

"Nice try," Kabuto said.

He disappeared and reappeared behind you. Before you could react, you were kicked across the arena, slamming into the wall. You slumped to the ground, almost unconscious. You opened your eyes slowly and watched Kabuto knock out Kozu and Shiori as well.

"N-no," you said as you struggled to get up.

~I can't move. I've used up all my chakra~

You heard footsteps. You looked up and saw Kabuto slide away the mask once more.

"I apologize, Kari, but you are coming with me for now," Kabuto said kneeling next to you.

You shook your head in defiance.

"Its Lord Orochimaru's orders. Don't worry, we won't hurt you," he said reaching out his hand and knocking you out.

Your eyes slowly drifted shut, as the battle raged on around you.

* * *

Akira, Guy, and Kakashi made their way down to the arena.

"Kari!" Akira yelled as an ANBU Black Ops knocked you out.

He turned toward the Jonin as Baki, the Sand Genin's sensei, appeared next to him.

"Don't touch her!" Akira shouted, pulling out a kunai. "Or I'll kill you."

"What do you want with Kari Uchiha," Kakashi asked. "Kabuto?"

"You're as sharp as Kari, here," Kabuto said gesturing towards your limp body. "What Lord Orochimaru wants with her is none of your business really. Time to call it a day."

"Are you going to run away from me again?" asked Kakashi.

"That would be too obvious. Why should I show you my hand when it's so much more fun keeping you in the dark? That eye of yours can't see everything, can it?" Kabuto said referring to Kakashi's Sharingan eye. "Unlike the Uchiha clan, you haven't mastered it yet."

Kabuto took one last look at you and then glanced at Akira. Akira's fist tightened and he clenched his jaw.

~I won't lose another squad member . . . Never again! ~

Kabuto smirked.

"Oh well. I'm sure that Lord Orochimaru doesn't really need her that much. She, even as an Uchiha, can't master the Sharingan, or even obtain it. Farewell," he said disappearing with Baki.

Akira walked over to you and touched your forehead. You slowly opened your eyes.

"Shiori, Kozu," you muttered.

"They'll be fine. You're all right, Kari. Just relax now," Akira said as he walked toward his other students.

You breathed slowly for a few seconds.

~Naruto . . . Naruto went with Sakura to go after Sasuke . . . Sasuke was chasing Gaara! ~

You got up quickly, your fear for Naruto and Sasuke's well being giving you strength. You ran into the forest looking for Sasuke and Naruto, ignoring Kakashi, Guy and Akira calling you back.

* * *

"Naruto!" you said as you burst into a clearing.

Sasuke looked over to you as the smallest of smiles appeared on his face.

"Sasuke!" you said. You ran to your brother and for the first time in five years, Sasuke hugged you back. Tears dripped down your face as Sasuke whispered into your ear.

"Its ok, Kari. Naruto and Sakura are fine. I'm ok. We are all fine."

"I've missed you, Nii-chan," you said to your brother.

Sasuke squeezed you tighter and only released you when the medic team came to pick up Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and you.

* * *

You woke up the next morning and looked outside.

~Its going to rain . . .~

You sighed and grabbed your black dress and shoes and changed into them.

You were healed from the fighting yesterday easily, although Naruto still had to wear bandages.

You met Kozu and Shiori at the usual spot, and the three of you started walking to the Hokage Stone Faces.

You met Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura on your way there, and the six of you stood together at the funeral.

You followed Shiori up to the table with Kozu right behind you just as it started to rain.

You laid your white flower with the rest thinking of the times when you were little when you and Naruto would play pranks and be chased by Lord Hokage.

You thought of the time when you accused Lord Hokage of the Uchiha Massacre. You told him that he had over-worked Itachi, and if he had told Itachi to take a break once in a while, none of the Uchiha would have died. Tears slid down your face as you remember going back when you had grown older, and apologizing, saying that you had only been angry and that you hadn't meant a word of it.

He had smiled and said that was understandable, then he had given you a hug and taken you to the Hero's Memorial Stone, saying that although their names were not carved on that stone, your parents spirits still lived in you and you could visit them there.

You followed Shiori back to the crowd, more tears sliding down your face.

~ . . . Why . . . Why does everyone close to me have to die? Mom . . . Dad . . . Aunt Uruchi . . . Uncle Teyaki . . . Shisui . . . And now Lord Hokage . . . ~

You felt a hand on your shoulder and you looked up to see Akira's face. You looked to your sides and saw Shiori and Kozu looking at you as well. When you looked just past Shiori, you saw Naruto and Sasuke, and even Sakura.

~But I have to stop living in the past . . . And start living now . . . ~

You nodded your head and smiled at your team.

~Because . . . That is what Lord Hokage would want . . . ~

* * *

"Hey! Kozu, Shiori!" you called to your friends.

"What is it, Kari?" Shiori asked.

"Look at what I got!" you sang as you waved three pieces of paper in their faces.

"Coupons for dumplings! Awesome, Kari-chan!" Kozu shouted as he jumped up and down.

"So are you guys ready to satisfy your sweet tooth?" you asked.

"Yeah!" Kozu yelled.

"Sure," Shiori said shrugging his shoulders.

"Ok! Let's go!" you said.

Shiori and Kozu walked on either side of you as you headed toward the Dumpling Shop. Kozu was thinking aloud about what dango he would get while Shiori walked silently and you laughed at Kozu's childish nature. You stopped suddenly, looking around the street.

"Kari-chan? Are you ok?"

"Is something wrong?"

You turned back to Kozu and Shiori who were waiting for an answer. You shook your head.

"I thought I saw something," you muttered.

Shiori and Kozu exchanged looks as Kozu started babbling again.

"Here we are," you said when you reached the shop.

As you entered, the owner called out a hearty, "Ohairinasai!"

"Let's find a seat already!" Kozu said, walking toward an empty table.

You and Shiori followed. When you passed by a table with two men in large black cloaks, you slowed down. The cloaks had red clouds on them, and they were wearing strange hats. That was not the reason you stopped though.

~ . . . That chakra . . . Is he really back? ~

"Kari-chan! Come on, I found the perfect table!" Kozu called.

You started to walk your normal speed.

~No . . . I must be mistaken~

You sat at the table with the two boys, as a waitress came by and took your orders.

"I will have the goma dango, please," said Kozu.

"Bocchan dango for me," Shiori said.

"And chichi dumplings for me," you said handing her the coupons.

"Would you like anything to drink?" asked the waitress.

"Three cups of sweet green tea, please," you said.

"Ok, I will have your orders soon," she said before walking away.

"I thought you were going on a diet, Kari-chan?" asked Kozu with a mischievious smile.

You smiled and replied, "I hate diets anyway. They are for people who are insecure about themselves."

The waitress came back with three cups of tea.

You took a sip of your own before adding, "Besides, we all know that I could never give up chichi dumplings."

When your dumplings arrived, you started a new topic.

"So . . . How are they going to judge the Chunin Exams? I mean, Lord Hokage obviously can't do it, and the Kazekage turned out to be an imposter. They were supposed to be the main judges, right?"

"Once they figure out who the new Hokage will be, whoever it is will talk with all the other judges. That's my guess anyway," Shiori said.

"Well that's probably what will happen, cause your guesses are usually right," you said popping a dumpling in your mouth.

"Don't be upset if you're not a Chunin, Kari-chan. Its only your first year," Kozu said nonchalantly.

"Stop acting so cool, Kozu. I'll bet you that I turn out to be a Chunin and you don't," you dared.

"Just remember, Kozu," Shiori warned. "Kari always wins bets against you."

You smiled. It was a simple, well-known fact of life: Kozu liked to bet against Kari. Kari always won. Which meant Kozu always lost.

"Take his advice, Kozu. You can't afford to lose any more bets to me," you teased.

Kozu sighed.

"Fine," he muttered.

You and Shiori laughed and the three of you finished your treat with high moods. You paid the waitress and followed Shiori and Kozu out of the shop. You walked out in time to hear Kakashi tell Asuma and Kurenai what he was doing.

"You're waiting on Sasuke? From what Naruto tells me, Sasuke should be waiting on you," you joked as the three Jonin turned to you.

"Hello, Kari, Shiori, Kozu. Where's Akira?" Kakashi asked.

"He's on a mission. Without us," you said sourly.

"From the tone of your voice, you don't seem too happy about that," Kakashi said.

"Of course not. We haven't had a good mission in ages!" Kozu complained.

"Oh, be quiet, Kozu. I just treated you to dumplings. If Akira-sensei were here, we'd be training," you said hitting Kozu on the head.

"Ok, ok," Kozu said rubbing his head. "Kari-chan, do you have to hit so hard?"

You laughed and waved good-bye to the Jonin while Kozu and Shiori followed you.

"Hey, I gotta go. I'll see you guys later, ok?" you said.

"Ok. See ya later, Kari-chan!" they said as you walked off.

As soon as you were out of their sight, you ran. You ran through the familiar trees until you heard the trickle of water.

~Almost there . . .~

When you reached the Shrine, you quietly opened the door. When you turned to the mat, you saw that it was already moved aside.

~Sasuke . . .~

You quietly left the Nakano Shrine and walked back toward the Village center. When you arrived, you saw Guy run by in a hurry.

~He looked serious . . . ~

You followed.

"Guy-sensei, what's the matter?" you asked keeping pace with the Jonin.

"Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma are having trouble getting rid of some unknown ninja," he replied.

"I'm coming, too," you said, following Guy as he sped up.

You raced across the terrain of the Village, running faster and faster. You realized that you were running in the direction of the bridge. When Guy sped up, you tried to follow and keep him in sight. You finally caught up with him when you arrived at the river. You flipped out of the trees and landed on the water behind the Jonin of the Leaf.

"Do you have to go so fast," you complained.

You saw Kakashi unconscious on Guy's shoulder.

"Kari, get out of here now," Guy said.

"Why? What are you hiding from me?" you asked as you jumped in front of Asuma.

You saw the same black cloaks from the dumpling shop. Then you saw the faces.

~I . . . I was right . . . He's back~

You took a deep breath.

"Itachi Uchiha . . . " you said quietly.

Itachi turned to you.

"Kari . . . Its been a while."

"Its been five years to be exact," you replied icily.

"Who is she, Itachi? She looks like one of your clan," the other man said.

Itachi remained silent, watching you the whole time.

"I sent word to the ANBU Black Ops, but until they get here, we hold them off," Guy said to Asuma as he handed Kakashi to Kurenai.

"Interesting. I'll give you credit for guts," the man said squeezing the handle of his sword.

"No, Kisame," Itachi said. "We're pulling out. We're not here to fight a full-scale battle. Tempting as it may be, it's not the way to do this. Let's go."

"That's too bad. It was just getting fun. They don't know how lucky they are," Kisame replied.

You pulled out a handful of kunai and threw it at them. The attack missed as they ran off.

~What is he here for? ~

You suddenly remembered your dream and you sprinted off without another word to the Jonin.

~If that dream is true . . . Then Itachi . . . He's here for Naruto~

"Teuchi!" you shouted as you entered the ramen shop.

"Oh, hello, Kari," Teuchi said turning to you.

"Where's Naruto?" you asked urgently.

"Umm . . . Well, Master Jiraiya told Naruto to come help him with a mission."

"Did he say where they were going?" you asked.

"Umm . . . No . . . Oh! Wait, they did. They were heading toward that outskirt town," Teuchi said.

"Thanks!" you said running off.

~I have to find him . . . I have to find Naruto! ~

* * *

Ohairinasai -Japanese for "Come in"

Just a reminder that the dream was quite a few chapters back so if you don't remember then I recommend you reread that chapter. Its called the Nightmare, I believe :) Itachi returns and the plot thickens! Rate and Review!

~Kiri-chan


	15. Akatsuki Flee

Just a note: you'll figure it out in the next few chapters but I'll tell you anyway, Kari still cares for Itachi a LOT. She is just really hurt by what he did so um. . .yeah.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just Kari and my other OCs.

* * *

~If Naruto is with Master Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, he should be fine . . . But just in case, I'm going to tag along, too~

You were on the path to the outskirt town, crossing a bridge at the moment.

You stopped.

"Oh," you said. "Naruto's been here."

You started walking a little faster.

~I just hope that Sasuke doesn't find out about Itachi . . . Who knows what he'll do . . . ~

You started to remember the day that Itachi killed the clan.

* * *

_Itachi sat on the front steps to your house, sliding on his shoes._

_"Nii-chan," you said running up to him._

_"Yes," Itachi replied with a small smile. "What is it, Kari?"_

_You smiled. You had always liked the way Itachi said your name._

_"Nii-chan, can you help me train after school?" you asked hopefully._

_"I'm sorry, Kari. I can't. I'm busy. Why don't you ask Father to help you?" he said._

_You frowned._

_"Father doesn't like me," you said sticking your lower lip out in a pout. "Besides, you're better at training me. Father doesn't even know how good I am."_

_Itachi sighed. You walked closer and sat down next to him._

_"Itachi-kun?"_

_"Yes, Kari?" Itachi said your name the same way, making it sound sweet on his tongue._

_"Promise me," you said looking him in the eye. "Promise me you'll always love me, ok?"_

_Itachi stared at your eyes and half smiled._

_"I promise," he said. He stood up. "I have to go, Kari," he said as he walked out the door._

_"Itachi!" you said before he left._

_He turned his head to you, his ebony eyes glinting with curiosity._

_"Say my name . . . Once more?" you asked._

_Itachi shook his head and smiled._

_"Good-bye, Kari," he said as he shut the door._

_You smiled happily and walked into the kitchen to eat breakfast. Sasuke was already in there, talking to Father. You sat down across from your father, in hopes that he might see you today. Your black sundress was spread out around you. You ate some toast as your mother turned to you._

_"Here's your lunch, Kari, Sasuke," she said._

_"Thanks, Mom," you said with a glance to your father._

_~Even when someone says my name, he ignores me . . .~_

_You took your lunch and said your good-byes, walking out the door. You passed by your aunt on your way to school._

_"Kari! On your way to school now, are you?" she asked as she stopped her sweeping._

_"Yeah," you said nodding your head._

_"I saw your brother Itachi the other day. He stopped to chat with me. You'll never guess who he was bragging about," she smiled shaking a finger at you._

_"Who?" you asked._

_"Why, you! He was going on and on about how well your training was going and that your grades were almost better than Sasuke's!_

_"Really?" you asked. Itachi didn't usually brag about you unless you had done something notable._

_"Oh, yes. He really is something, isn't he?" your aunt asked you._

_"Yeah," you agreed. "He is."_

_"Well, you work hard at school today," she said as you walked off and waved good-bye._

_You had worked hard in school that day. You had stayed late, later than Sasuke had, because you had played a prank on the teacher with Naruto and had gotten caught._

_You were running home that night. It was cold and you remember worrying that the Academy would tell your parents about your prank. You remembered every detail of that night at first, clinging to it, as if that would make the old times come back._

_You walked into the Uchiha compound and took a shortcut home._

_~It's not late enough for everyone to be in bed~_

_You walked to your parents' room to tell them that you were home. You opened the doors and held back a scream. Your mother lay dead on the floor with your father lying on top of her, also dead. You stepped back and ran out into the streets of the compound. You saw more dead bodies: cousins, grandparents, your aunt and uncle . . . You finally turned down another street and saw Sasuke and Itachi._

_"Sasuke! Itachi!" you yelled._

_Sasuke fell over, unconscious._

_"Itachi! Help! Do something!" you shouted as tears streamed down your face._

_You looked to your brother and with a jolt, realized that he had his Sharingan activated._

_"I-Itachi . . . " you said fearfully._

_He closed his eyes and then opened them slowly, taking you into the world of Tsukiyomi. You watched the Uchiha clan fall before your eyes. Some of the more powerful members even fell with a single shuriken. You stood next to your aunt and uncle as they fell. You dropped to your knees, tears streaming down your face faster than before._

_"Please . . . Itachi . . . Stop it, big brother, please . . . " you cried._

_You watched Itachi kill your mother and father easily, with one swipe of a blade._

_"NO! Mother! Father!" you yelled as you grabbed your head with your hands._

_Tsukiyomi disappeared, and you were crouched next to Sasuke, with Itachi standing before you._

_"Why?" you asked._

_You looked up to your favorite brother, waiting for an answer, tears leaking from your eyes. Itachi took a step forward. You didn't even flinch. If he wanted to kill you, he would have done it by now._

_"I did it to test my capacity," he replied emotionlessly._

_You closed your eyes, as if that would dispel what was happening and return everything back to normal. When you opened your eyes, Itachi had turned and was now walking away._

_"I don't . . . I don't believe you," you whispered._

_He stopped. You looked to his face as he turned. His eyes were dark and cold and you shivered involuntarily._

_"Don't follow me," he warned in a tone that matched his eyes._

_Your eyes shifted to the ground and you nodded your head numbly._

_"All the same . . ." you muttered as you looked up again into his eyes. "I don't believe you."_

_His glare hardened and you feared that he would change his mind, and kill you. You blinked and when your eyes opened, he had gone._

_You broke down just then and sobbed over your brother's body, though you knew he was alive. What Itachi must have put him through . . . It was definitely worse than what he had done to you._

* * *

You sighed and started to run, shaking your head and trying to forget the memories.

You approached a small outpost town holding a small festival.

~Sake . . . Money . . . Women . . . Yeah. They'll be here~

You walked around, looking for Naruto's bright orange clothes and blonde hair. You started stopping at hotels, asking for Naruto and Jiraiya. You weren't in too big of a hurry; Naruto had Jiraiya with him so he would be fine.

~I know that chakra! Naruto! ~

You stopped, your eyes wide with worry and fear as you realized that Naruto was not with Jiraiya, but he was also not alone.

You made a hand sign and pulled out your fan as you disappeared.

* * *

A cloud of smoke appeared in front of Naruto, and the clash of metal against another substance was heard.

You were standing, almost crouching, low to the ground and holding your fan horizontally. Your fan's strong metal frame had stopped Kisame's bandaged katana from ripping into Naruto. You were focusing chakra on the soles of your feet, straining to stay in one position.

~His strength . . . Its unreal! ~

The man, Kisame, stared at you with an amused expression on his face.

"Well, well, if it isn't the girl from before. You never did tell me who she was, Itachi-san," he said with a smirk that revealed his shark-like teeth.

You didn't even glance at your eldest brother. You knew that you would see the same, emotionless face and the red Sharingan eyes.

"Is she your sister?" Kisame continued. "It seems you're going soft. You kill your whole clan with the exception of your younger brother and sister."

That made you glance at Itachi and realize that there was one other person here . . . Another Uchiha.

Sasuke lay crumpled in a heap behind Itachi. He had obviously tried to attack and had failed.

~Sasuke, you idiot! ~

You grimaced and forced more chakra to your feet.

Kisame's attention was still directed towards you, and he was bearing down on your fan with the tip of his sword.

You suddenly used the chakra focused at your feet to push up on Kisame's sword and flip backwards so that you now stood next to Naruto.

Kisame smirked.

"I'm interested," he began as he cocked his head to one side, his gaze still focused on you. "What would an Uchiha, a fire style clan, do with a battle fan? Aren't they used for wind element jutsu?"

You remained silent, staring at the shark-like man. His smirk widened.

"No answer? Well then, it looks like I'll force it out of you!" he said as he raised his katana and brought it down on you.

Another cloud of smoke appeared as yet another clash was heard.

But you hadn't moved. The smoke cleared and you saw a giant frog with metal armor blocking the attack. Someone appeared behind Naruto, and started to speak.

"You two don't know me at all, do you? Shoulda done your homework. Jiraiya the Toad Sage falls victim to no woman's charm. Rare beauties drop for me like blossoms in a storm. It isn't in my nature to be duped by the wiles of women. When you reach the stature I have, the ladies kneel and worship at your awesomeness!"

You felt the sweat drop on the back of your head grow bigger with every word that came from Jiraiya's mouth.

~Naruto was right . . . This guy is a pervert . . .~

You slowly turned to see Master Jiraiya with a woman over his shoulder.

The sweat drop got bigger.

He suddenly noticed you.

" . . . Who are you? When did you get here?"

The sweat drop exploded as your hands clenched into fists.

"I just saved Naruto five minutes ago while YOU were probably drooling all over this lady!" you almost yelled.

Jiraiya held up his hand and tried to calm you down.

"Uh . . . right . . . Well, you see . . . Uh . . . "

Then his eyes narrowed and he pointed his index finger at you.

"Hey I asked you a question first! Besides! Who are you to question the Great Toad Sage?!"

You quickly calmed down and glared at the man.

"I'm Kari Uchiha. I decided since you weren't doing your job of protecting Naruto, then I should," you said coolly.

When Naruto turned around and started yelling at the man as well, you turned your glare to your eldest brother, who was watching the whole scene with no expression. Of course.

When Kisame spoke, you tore your eyes from Itachi.

"Whatever name you go by, Master Jiraiya, you're something of a disappointment. An old man with the disposition of two children, its almost impossible to believe that you were one of the legendary three Sannin."

You glared at the man.

~Children, hmph. Naruto has the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox and I'm an Uchiha prodigy . . . You can hardly call us children . . .~

Jiraiya turned and set the woman down against the wall.

"I know that he's the one you're really after," Jiraiya said turning to the men.

You glared at Itachi and Kisame. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Sasuke move a little.

"You're right. Naruto is the prize the Akatsuki are after, and we will have him," Itachi replied.

Naruto took a step back as your eyes narrowed. Your feet moved so that half of you was in front of Naruto. When Jiraiya's frog disappeared, you gulped. Now the only thing separating you from Kisame was air.

"No way you're getting Naruto," Jiraiya said firmly.

"We'll see about that," Itachi retorted.

"Actually, this is all very convenient. I can eliminate you both at the same time," Jiraiya said menacingly.

"Stay out of this," a weak voice said.

Your eyes were immediately drawn to your other brother. Sasuke was standing up and he had set his feet firmly in the ground.

"The only one who is going to eliminate him is me!" Sasuke said forcefully.

~You idiot! There's no way a Genin like you could beat an S-ranked criminal like Itachi!~

"Go away. You don't interest me at the moment," Itachi said.

Sasuke's hand clenched into a fist.

"Well, get interested!" he shouted as he prepared to punch Itachi.

Itachi kicked Sasuke in the gut, sending him down the hallway and into the wall.

"Sasuke, no!" Naruto yelled.

He started to run forward.

"Why you lousy-"

"No Naruto!" Sasuke yelled. "Mind your own business!"

Naruto stopped.

"I've told you before," Sasuke said as he got up from the floor. "I've lived my whole life for this day, for this moment."

When he looked up, his Sharingan had been activated. "This fight is mine!"

Sasuke charged again, but was immediately thrown back against the wall. He slouched on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"This fight is mine," he said again.

"So be it," Itachi said.

You stepped forward, gripping your fan tightly. You were stopped by Kisame's sword, which he held out in front of you. You glared at him as he smirked.

"You heard him, girl. This fight is none of our business. Let's let the two of them sort it out," Kisame said.

You watched helplessly as Itachi slowly walked toward Sasuke. Itachi quickly punched and kicked Sasuke sending him straight to the ground.

"You show him no mercy," Kisame said, a sadistic smile etched on his face.

Itachi reached down and pulled Sasuke up by the neck of his shirt, holding him against the wall. Sasuke screamed in pain.

"Isn't that heartwarming. Using Tsukiyomi on his own brother," Kisame said.

You quickly jumped over the sword blocking your path.

"Itachi! Please! Please stop it!" you screamed, tears running down your face.

You heard footsteps behind you and you guessed that Kisame was supposed to stop you from interfering. Itachi turned to watch you run toward him. You ran into Itachi, your hands pulling at his long cloak.

"Please stop!" you cried out. Suddenly, two cold hands from behind grabbed your arms and lifted you away from Itachi. They pinned your arms to your side, stopping you from doing anything. Itachi looked into your pleading eyes.

"Itachi?" asked Kisame.

"No. Leave her. Some other time," was all Itachi said.

The walls were turning into what looked like intestines, and Kisame and Itachi looked beyond you to see Jiraiya performing a jutsu. Itachi released Sasuke, who sunk into the walls halfway.

"Kisame, come," Itachi said.

Kisame dropped you to the floor and ran past you. You quickly rose and chased after them. You turned a corner then froze.

~I can't move! ~

You looked down to see the intestines wrapping around your feet. Jiraiya's jutsu had trapped you to prevent you from following the Akatsuki.

You watched, your eyes wide with terror, as Itachi and Kisame ran towards a dead end. Itachi used a jutsu that only a Mangeyeko Sharingan could accomplish.

Black fire burned at the spot where Itachi's eyes were focused, causing an explosion and the wall to break away.

You were only able to look on as they ran away, just as they had the last time. You fell to the ground on your hands and knees.

~It's always like this . . .~

Itachi always hurts Sasuke, but before you can do anything to stop the fight, Itachi runs. You pounded on the floor, vaguely aware that it was no longer a toad's mouth and that Naruto and Jiraiya were examining the wall.

~Amaterasu . . . I never would have thought . . . ~

You sighed and stood. You turned toward Sasuke and walked over to him. He was once again, slouching against a wall unconscious. You felt his pulse and tenderly touched his arm.

~Its broken . . . That must have happened before I showed up~

You heard Naruto and Jiraiya's footsteps behind you.

"That's twice on Sasuke . . ." you muttered as you stood to face the others.

~Tsukiyomi . . . Amaterasu . . . I thought they were only myths . . . ~

Out of nowhere, a flash of green passed by your face and hit Jiraiya in the face.

"Dynamic Entry!"

You sighed and decided it was best to tune out the excuses and yelling coming from both the Sannin and Jonin.

You heard the name "Itachi" come from Jiraiya's mouth and you started listening again.

"-Whatever jutsu Itachi used on him."

"Tsukiyomi . . ." you muttered quietly as you reached for the necklace that hung around your neck. Jiraiya glanced at you and frowned.

"I think you should take Kari with you as well," he said softly to Guy.

"No," you said shaking your head. "I'm staying with Naruto-kun."

Jiraiya sighed. You stared at your brother, vaguely listening to the three ninja talk.

"What we need is a supreme medical specialist, a master of healing arts, and soon," Guy said.

You remember seeing Lee, passed out after his fight with Gaara.

~I know how he feels . . . Somewhat, anyway~

"You're right. And the woman you're talking about is the one we've come to find," Jiraiya said.

Your head perked up and you looked at the Sannin's face.

"Huh? The woman?" Guy asked. "You don't mean-"

"Yes, that's exactly who I mean. Another of the legendary Sannin, the queen of slugs and elixirs, the gambling fool and mistress of the healing arts, Lady Tsunade!" Jiraiya said.

* * *

After Jiraiya loaded Sasuke onto Guy's back, the four of you walked outside the hotel and said your final farewells.

When Guy brought out a green jumpsuit for Naruto, you stood to the side next to Jiraiya and sighed.

"The second he lets that thing out of his sight, I'm burning it," you muttered under your breath. Jiraiya chuckled quietly as you glared daggers at the green costume.

As Guy walked off, you watched Naruto hold the jumpsuit in front of him and laugh.

"Pretty cool, huh?" he asked.

You raised an eyebrow and followed Jiraiya and Naruto as they walked in the opposite direction of Guy. You walked in silence for a few minutes, listening to the footsteps you and the other two were making.

When Naruto stopped and asked about Itachi and Kisame and why they wanted him, you listened intently without saying a word.

After Naruto shouted out that they needed to hurry up and find this Tsunade so he could get some training done, you all continued on your way.

"So what's this Tsunade like?" you asked curiously.

"Well, she kind of unpleasant, plus there's the fact that she's known far and wide as a die hard gambler and all," Jiraiya informed.

"Great, this should be a piece of cake if she's that famous," Naruto said.

"Oh, she's famous all right. You might even call her legendary," Jiraiya said.

"Legendary?" you asked.

"The Legendary Sucker," he said with a grin on his face. "But as legendary a sucker she might be, she won't be that easy to find. You see, she's not one to grow old gracefully, probably using a jutsu to mask her appearance. She's actually fifty years old but I'm sure she'll look more like she did in her twenties," Jiraiya said.

"Hmph . . ." you said.

"Well, that's not all. I heard she's been transforming on the fly. Going from her teens to her thirties then forties, just so she can get out of any money lenders she's in too deep with," Jiraiya continued.

"That's awful. Man, she sounds like a charmer," Naruto said.

"Yeah, well, Tsunade's always loved gambling more than anything. Too bad she's never had any luck, or skill for that matter."

"So do you have a plan for finding her?" you asked.

"Not really," Jiraiya said as he stopped and turned to you. "We might have a little work ahead of us but I'm sure we'll come up with something."

You sighed.

"But no worries! None of the time will be wasted. All of the time on the road will be devoted to you!" Jiraiya said pointing to Naruto. "Time to start training!"

Naruto grinned and set down his backpack.

"Oh no," you said as you saw him pull out the green jumpsuit.

Jiraiya eventually made Naruto put the thing away and you all continued walking for a few more minutes.

"Come on, Pervy Sage! What are we waiting for? Let's start my training!" Naruto complained.

"Hold on. I have to train you while we gather information, otherwise it won't mean anything," Jiraiya said.

"Gather information?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, in this town," Jiraiya said leaning over a railing along a cliff.

"Woah!" you said as you saw the town. A large festival was going on in the town. You could see people crowding the streets to get to booths and games.

You all quickly hurried down to the town.

"I will catch you guys later!" you said as you ran off. You had spotted a dumpling stand and you were not going to miss out.

* * *

Ok a note on Kari's memory. She like how Itachi said her name because she was his favorite and he actually said her name like she was a special person to him because she was. She could tell the difference in how he said her name and how other people said her name and she really liked how he said it.

Rate and Review pleasies!

~Kiri-chan


	16. One Sip Too Many

Ha ha I had fun writing this one :) . . . but this isn't my best chapter so don't get your hopes up. . .

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I do own Kari and my other OCs.

* * *

"Chichi dumplings, please," you said when it was your turn in line.

"You like the sweet stuff, eh?" asked the cook as he prepared your order.

You laughed.

"I love it! I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't have chichi dumplings!"

The cook joined in your laughter and gave you an extra helping for no charge. You thanked him graciously and walked off to look at the other booths. You finally decided to go looking for Naruto and Jiraiya.

"Ok, the Perv first," you said as you looked around.

~Pretty women . . . If I find them, I'll find him~

You heard a familiar laugh and turned to see Naruto standing across from you.

You both sweat dropped as you heard the old man start sweet-talking the ladies.

You and Naruto walked inside to see Jiraiya on a couch with two women.

"What can I say, I love the ladies," Jiraiya said taking a sip of what you were sure was sake.

He saw you and Naruto.

"Oh, hey kids, had your fill of the festival already, huh?" he asked taking another big sip of sake.

Naruto noticed his empty wallet on the table and started to shout and beat on Jiraiya. The ladies ran off screaming as Jiraiya yelled for them to come back. You sighed and suddenly someone coming in the entryway pushed you forward.

"Jeez, rude much?" you muttered.

You saw one of Naruto's fried squids fly through the air and land on a man's white suit.

"Hey watch it!" one of the bodyguards yelled.

You moved to stand on one side of the couch as the man told Naruto he had to pay for that stain. Jiraiya seemed very amused and he stood and held out his hand.

"Naruto, this is the perfect time for the new jutsu I want to show you. Now pay attention," he said.

Your eyes widened as you saw blue chakra gathering in Jiraiya's hand in a small ball.

~Amazing! Visible chakra! ~

Jiraiya pushed the chakra ball into the man's stomach and he flew into a stand across the street, spinning the whole way.

"That was awesome!" Naruto yelled.

You watched as Naruto and Jiraiya approached the stand and Jiraiya used the man's money to pay for the wrecked stand and for the rest of the balloons.

"Fine by me, I guess," the stand owner muttered.

"Naruto, let's get going. Time for you to train," Jiraiya said. He turned to you as you walked out of the room. "Come on, Kari. You're coming, too."

You sighed and followed the boys up to the top of the cliff. Jiraiya began to explain the jutsu to Naruto.

You frowned.

~What am I even doing up here? I should go look for a hotel or something~

You sighed and walked back down to town. You enjoyed the celebrations a bit longer before turning into a hotel and sleeping through the night peacefully.

* * *

Your conscience was screaming at you, reprimanding what you were about to do.

You had always been curious about what your sensei drank whenever he ate dumplings with you and your team. You knew it was called sake and you knew that it was alcoholic. What you didn't know was that it was extremely addicting.

It had been weeks since Naruto, Jiraiya, and you had been staying in this town. You were getting incredibly bored. You didn't take boredom very well.

One night when Jiraiya was out doing his "research" and Naruto was training, you walked past a bar.

Your eyes drifted over the bar and a smile appeared on your face. You did hang out with Naruto after all. You ran into a nearby alley and transformed into an older version of yourself. Old enough to get into a bar that is.

Your black hair was still long and your eyes were still onyx black. Your body was a lot more curvaceous as a twenty-one year old and your clothes flaunted it.

You wore a black mini skirt that showed off your legs and a red halter-top that fluttered around your belly button area. You wore black high heels and gold jewelry as well.

You walked out of the alley and sat at the booth of the bar. The man behind the counter gave you a hearty welcome and you nodded in response.

"Sake, please," you said in a low voice. You were shocked to hear how mature it sounded, but you let no expression flit across your face.

"Coming right up," the bartender said giving you the bottle and a small cup.

You nodded your thanks and poured the first cup. Your conscience did not like how much of the alcoholic beverage you had poured out.

~Be quiet. I'm only gonna take a sip~

You raised the cup up to your nose and sniffed. You smiled and took a small sip. At least, you had meant for it to be a small sip.

The second you had tasted the flavor, you not only swallowed one sip, but the rest of the small cup as well. The sake was delicious. When second you swallowed it, you could feel the burn race up your throat. You finished off that small cup in one go, and you were already pouring the next one.

~So . . . The Great Kari Uchiha now has two weaknesses . . . Dango and sake . . .~

When you were on the fifth cup, you felt someone sit in the chair next to you.

"Hey, sweet thing!" an annoyingly familiar voice said.

You drained the rest of the cup and glanced to your right.

~ . . . Stupid . . . Sage Pervy . . . Interrupting my . . . fun drinking . . .~

You were drunk. You ignored Jiraiya as he ordered his own sake and continued to chat with you.

"You know, I'm doing research on pretty women and I was wondering if you would like to help me out," Jiraiya said leaning toward you a bit.

You gulped down your ninth cup and turned to look him straight in the eye.

"That's gross, Pervy Sage," you muttered almost incoherently and you drained yet another cup.

Jiraiya froze and his expression hardened. You could tell he was examining you again, only this time, comparing you to your thirteen-year-old self.

You drained one more before he snatched the cup away from you.

"Kari, what the hell are you doing here?" asked Jiraiya in a vicious whisper.

You blinked a few times and replied, "I was bored . . . And thirsty."

Jiraiya sighed.

"What on earth possessed you to get drunk?" he whispered even more harshly than before.

"I was only gonna have one," you mumbled.

"How many have you had?" asked the Sannin cautiously.

You shrugged your shoulders and leaned forward on the counter before answering.

"I dunno . . . "

You picked up the bottle and swirled around the liquid inside. There was less than a fourth of the bottle left.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes and his frown deepened.

You had lifted the bottle to your lips; you only wanted one last gulp. Jiraiya snatched it away and gave it to the man at the counter.

You frowned.

"Hey . . . I'z a . . . gonna drink dat . . . " you slurred.

He slammed down the money on the table before gently grabbing your arm and steering you away from the bar. Your head started to throb.

"Woah, woah, not so fast," you said grabbing your head.

Jiraiya sighed and stopped walking.

"Kari, why did you go in there?" he asked again.

You tried to think, and the only answer you could come up with was the thought you had had the second your eyes laid sight on the bar.

"I hang out with Naruto," you mumbled while you shrugged your shoulders yet again.

Your eyes suddenly closed and before you could fall over, Jiraiya caught you. The jutsu ended and you were once again thirteen years old. Jiraiya shook his head and carried you back to the hotel.

* * *

You woke up the next morning to a pounding headache and a very angry Sannin. You sat up in your bed and the events of the last night came rushing back to you. You rubbed your throbbing head and moaned. Your stomach felt nauseated and your mouth was totally dry.

~I just got totally wasted last night . . . Shoot . . . So much for my self-control~

You then remembered a very livid Jiraiya from that night and you resisted the urge to crawl back under the covers and die.

Your door opened loudly and you flinched at the bang. You looked up slowly to see Jiraiya walking toward you. He sat down on a chair beside your bed and set a glass of water and two pain pills on the bedside table and a trash can next to your bed.

"How do you feel?" he asked gruffly.

"Wasted . . . Hangovers suck," you said before gulping down the pain pills and water.

"Will you answer my questions now?" he asked.

You frowned, but nevertheless nodded your head.

"What . . . were you doing . . . in a bar?" he asked slowly, trying to keep his anger under control.

"I was bored. You're always off flirting with women and Naruto is busy training," you said. "I ran out of things to do. I didn't even have the idea until I saw the bar."

Jiraiya sighed and buried his face in his hands. He raised his face up again, stood and walked toward the window, his arms crossed on his chest.

"You just set us back one day," he said.

"Hm?" you asked.

"I found Tsunade . . . but we can't leave until you are better."

You made a growling noise.

"This is why they put Genin on three man squads," you muttered, mostly to yourself. "So they don't get bored and do stupid stuff like this."

Despite his obviously fowl mood, Jiraiya smiled the tiniest bit.

"You are going to rest today while Naruto trains. I'm gonna catch up on our supplies and we leave tomorrow morning," the Sannin said as he left the room.

You head the door close quietly and you pulled the covers over your head and fell asleep once more.

* * *

You woke up early the next morning and packed up your belongings before following the two other ninja out of town.

The trip was not very long, nor was it silent. The trip was filled with angry outbursts from Naruto and the sounds of the balloons popping.

Hw was supposed to perform the jutsu inside of the balloon without popping it, but it was difficult for Naruto. He had a lot of chakra after all.

Every few minutes, you would glance at Jiraiya, wondering if he had told Naruto about the sake incident. You doubted that he had, but you still wondered.

You remained silent the whole trip. If Tsunade had left, it would be partially your fault because you had decided to get drunk. You grimaced every time that thought went through your head.

You entered the town and Jiraiya led the way to one of the gambling houses. You passed a few bars on your way there. Each time you saw one, you would glance at Naruto to see his reaction. He was completely and totally focused on his training, so you safely assumed that Jiraiya did not tell him.

You saw Naruto wander over to a lottery stand and you followed.

~I'm more of a betting person, but maybe I'll be good at this too~

You and Naruto walked away from the stand happily with full pockets.

Jiraiya finally took a turn, saying something about a castle.

"So where is this castle anyway?" you asked as you climbed up the steps.

"It's gone!" Jiraiya said.

The three of you jumped onto a rooftop.

"It's completely destroyed," you whispered.

A whole group of people suddenly ran by, away from the castle.

"Hey, you!" Jiraiya called out.

One of the men stopped and turned.

"What happened here? What are you running from?"

"Its a monster!" the man cried out.

"Monster? What kind of monster?" Jiraiya asked, pressing for information.

"A snake! A giant snake appeared out of nowhere and crushed the castle like it was nothing!" the man yelled before running off.

You froze.

~Giant snake . . .~

You shivered and you were jerked back to reality by Jiraiya calling your name.

"Naruto! Kari! Come on. I'd like to get a closer look at this monster," Jiraiya said running in the direction the group of people came from.

"Hai," you muttered as you followed with Naruto right behind you.

You saw Jiraiya stop in front of a wall that had been crushed. You frowned.

~That doesn't look like a snake attack, even if it fell on top of the wall . . .~

"Woah! Do you think the snake did this, too?" Naruto asked when he saw the wall.

"Let's go, Naruto, Kari. We're not gonna find Tsunade here," Jiraiya said walking away.

"Not again, I was hoping he forgot about her," Naruto muttered behind you as he followed.

You stifled a laugh and continued to walk.

"How many places are you going to drag us to? I'm starting to think this lady doesn't even exist," Naruto muttered.

Jiraiya stopped.

"In the mean time, we can get a bite to eat here," Jiraiya said referring to the restaurant he had stopped in front of.

You took a closer look and froze once again.

"Hey what are you talking about? Its a tavern!" Naruto yelled.

"Yeah, so what?" asked Jiraiya.

"You trying to be a bad influence on me and Kari? Hello! We're underage!" Naruto yelled.

You looked down to the ground, avoiding eye contact with either of the two ninja.

"You idiot. Nobody's making you do anything. Just behave and stay out of the grown ups' way," Jiraiya said walking inside.

Naruto walked in after him, and you followed hesitantly.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya yelled out, pointing at a beautiful blonde with abnormally large breasts.

"Jiraiya!" she shouted back as she stood up. "Why are you here?"

"Finally. I've been looking for you everywhere," Jiraiya said walking over to her table.

You and Naruto followed. The three of you joined Tsunade and her assistant for dinner. You ate quickly and looked away every time Tsunade, Jiraiya, or the assistant took a drink of sake.

When you finished your meal, you stood. The others looked to you in curiosity.

"I'm gonna be outside," you said walking off.

Jiraiya's eyes followed you out the door, just in case. You leaned against the tavern's wall once you were outside, and you breathed in the fresh air.

You turned your head toward the sky and slowly closed your eyes.

You were about ready to walk back inside when the whole group walked out led by Tsunade and Naruto. You looked to Jiraiya.

"Tsunade insulted the Third Hokage, and Naruto challenged her," Jiraiya said.

"I thought it would be something like that," you muttered.

Tsunade held up one finger.

"You see this? One finger. Its all I'm gonna need to take you down," she said.

"Don't ever underestimate me!" Naruto shouted out as he threw some shuriken and charged.

Tsunade dodged and snatched the kunai from Naruto's hand, twirling it on her finger and bringing it up causing Naruto's headband to fly off of his forehead. Naruto regained his balance only to be flicked in the forehead. Naruto rolled back several feet, finally coming to a stop. He stood slowly as the kunai landed in front of him, wedged into the ground, and his headband landed further in front of him.

"Hey kid!" Tsunade shouted out. "One question before you pass out. Tell me. What makes you so touchy about Hokage? "

You turned to face Naruto.

"Its because unlike you, that's my goal. Just watch, someday I'll be Hokage. Remember this. To be Hokage: That is my dream," Naruto said.

Naruto suddenly gathered chakra in his hand.

~He's doing it! ~

He charged. Suddenly, Tsunade slammed a finger to the ground. Your eyes widened as the earth cracked open beneath Naruto's feet.

~I've only seen Kozu do that and he has to use both hands! ~

Naruto's hand hit the ground and his own jutsu sent him flying into the crack. You walked over to Naruto. You chuckled and grabbed his hand as he yelled.

"Get me out of here! Ah, man! Kari help me out here!" Naruto shouted.

You pulled him out easily and knelt beside him as he coughed.

"Naruto, what am I going to do with you?" you asked.

Suddenly Naruto had stood up. He held up three fingers.

"I'll show you! Give me three days and I'll have that jutsu down flat!" Naruto yelled.

You sighed.

"Watch your mouth, kid. I might just hold you to it," she said.

"I never go back on my word. That's my nindo, my ninja way!" Naruto said.

"Well then. Care to make a bet on it?" she asked. "I'll give you one week. If you can master that jutsu by then, I'll admit that I'm wrong and that you're worthy of becoming Hokage. I'll even throw in my necklace."

"Nah, you can keep it. I'm not that into jewelry," Naruto said as he folded his hands on his head.

"Naruto, that necklace belonged to the First Hokage himself. There are only two like it in the world. Why that little thing is worth three gold mines and the mountains on top of them," Jiraiya said.

"Lady, you got yourself a bet," Naruto said.

"All right. However if you don't master it in one week, you admit I was right and I get all the money in Froggy," Tsunade said holding up his frog wallet.

Naruto frantically searched his pockets trying to figure out how she got his money. As Tsunade and Shizune walked off, you followed Jiraiya and Naruto back to the hotel.

* * *

I couldn't figure out if I should give Kari the "drinking problem" this early on in the story but I needed something mildly interesting to happen to her on this little training trip. Rate and Review pleasies!

~Kiri-chan


	17. Necklaces and Promises

Woot! Chapter 17! Note: There is POV change to Tsunade's POV but only at the end and for a very short time . . .

Read, Rate, Review, Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just Kari and my other OCs.

* * *

The next few days, you explored Tanzaku Town. When you came across a gambling house, you would walk inside and watch people waste away their money. Every time you left, you would shake your head and think the same thing every time.

~Why do people waste away their life and money like this? ~

Sometimes, you would wander out to the place where Naruto was training and you would watch silently from a distance.

He would gather the chakra in his hand and send it into a tree. He would try again and again, every time doing the same thing over and over, trying with all his might to control his chakra.

Once, when you went out to watch him, you saw another already in your hiding spot.

"Lady Tsunade," you said as you stood next to her.

She turned her head in your direction.

"Kari, that's your name, right?" she said.

"Yeah," you nodded.

You both watched silently as Naruto tried to use the Rasengan. He finally collapsed.

You felt your expression soften as you walked over to his body. You kneeled down beside him and carefully bandaged his right hand.

You sat there for a few minutes, before carefully brushing some of his unkempt hair off of his forehead.

He started to move again, so you walked back to the Sannin.

You watched her, waiting for her to ask her question. The Sannin lifted her head a little bit, looking toward the sky.

"Why?" she asked.

You were silent for a few minutes. You raised your hand toward your necklace that Itachi had given to you when you were accepted into the ninja academy.

"Because . . ." you replied slowly. "I promised him that I would help him. It's his dream to be Hokage, and I will help him. Even if I have to die."

Tsunade slowly turned around to see you squeezing your necklace and looking toward the ground. You looked up slowly.

"My brother was the only person that cared for me in my family," you said bitterly. "Everyone else didn't even acknowledge me because I was a girl. My own mother favored Sasuke more than me, and my father couldn't stop talking about either of my brothers."

Tsunade listened intently.

"Itachi was the only one that cared," you said quietly. Then you frowned. "At least, that's what I thought. When he killed our clan, he broke every promise he ever made to me. By that time, I was already good friends with Naruto, and I had already promised that I would help him become Hokage."

You locked eyes with Tsunade.

"I will not break my promise, and I will not end up like my brother," you said.

She looked down to her own necklace and touched it gently.

"I see the way you look at him," she said quietly. "You watch his every move, and I can tell that you care deeply for him."

She paused.

"You love him, don't you?" she asked.

You blushed slightly and nodded your head, a small smile on your face. The two of you stood in silence for a few minutes, listening to the wind blow.

"We're a lot alike, you know," Tsunade said.

Your eyes met hers as she continued.

"We have each lost a brother and each of us are in love with someone who can't be Hokage, no matter how hard they try," she said. She held up her green-blue necklace. "And we both have necklaces that connect the two."

You held up your own, and the orange-colored stone glimmered in the moonlight. You shook your head.

"That's the funny thing about Naruto," you said with a small smile on your face.

Tsunade looked up, confused.

"'Can't' is not in his vocabulary," you said.

Tsunade looked back down to her necklace.

"Good night, Lady Tsunade," you said as you turned away and strolled back toward the hotel.

* * *

The week was almost over.

You were leaning against a wall waiting for Jiraiya to finish with his research for the night.

You finally saw him walk out and head in your direction. You pushed off from the wall and started walking with him. He glanced in your direction, but didn't say a word.

"Why Naruto?" you asked suddenly.

"Hm?" asked the Sannin.

"Why are you training Naruto?" you asked.

Jiraiya was silent.

"Is it because he contains the Nine-Tails?" you asked. "Or some other reason entirely?"

Jiraiya stopped. You halted as well and waited for an answer.

"I train Naruto because he is the container of the Nine-Tails," Jiraiya said. "No other reason than that."

You watched his eyes. Shiori had taught you a thing or two about one of his talents. He could tell if a person was lying just by their eyes and how they move.

"Either you're telling the truth," you said, "or you are an excellent liar."

Jiraiya frowned and began walking again. You followed.

"Why do you even care what happens to Naruto?" you asked.

"Why are you asking so many questions?" asked Jiraiya.

You blushed a little bit before answering.

"I want to protect Naruto and I'm trying to figure out if I should trust you or not," you said.

"Listen, Kari, if you can't trust one of the legendary Sannin to protect your boyfriend, then you can't trust anyone," Jiraiya said.

"He's not my boyfriend," you muttered.

Jiraiya snorted as if in disagreement, but otherwise did not argue. You walked in silence to the hotel and departed ways to your separate rooms.

You wandered to your balcony and looked up at the stars and moon. You pointed at one constellation and remembered when you first learned about it.

* * *

_"See that, Kari? That's the Suzaku constellation, the Vermilion Bird," Itachi said, outlining the constellation with his finger._

_"Really? Cool!" you said._

_You and your elder brother were sitting on the dock that rested on the shore of the lake in the Uchiha compound._

_"Some say that this constellation gave our ancestors the idea for one of our jutsu. Can you think which one?" Itachi asked turning to you._

_"Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" you said._

_Itachi smiled. _

_"That's right," he said._

_You looked at the star's reflection in the lake below._

_"Kari, I have something for you," Itachi said._

_You turned to your brother._

_"What is it?" you asked._

_"Turn around and close your eyes," he said._

_You obeyed and felt something cold rest on your neck. You opened your eyes to see a vermilion-colored stone on a necklace._

_"Nii-san! Its beautiful!" you said hugging your brother._

_"Congratulations on being accepted into the ninja academy," Itachi said._

_"Thank you," you said happily._

_"The stone is a rare topaz color. There are not many topaz stones that are this shade of vermilion," Itachi said._

_You held the beautiful necklace in your hand and then looked your brother in the face._

_"Thank you, Itachi," you said again. "I love you, Nii-san."_

_"I love you, too, Kari-chan," Itachi said._

_"Promise," you said._

_"Hm?" he asked._

_"Promise me that you'll always love me," you said._

_Itachi's eyes softened and he nodded his head._

_"I promise," he said._

* * *

You pulled your hand back and let the tears fall down your face. You stood there for a while until you heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," you said.

The door opened. You heard Shizune's voice start speaking quickly.

"Kari, Naruto passed out. He was training and- Hey watch it!"

The second you heard Naruto's name, you had turned, shoved past Shizune and run out the door down to his room.

You quietly opened his door and tiptoed into the room and sat down on the edge of Naruto's bed. You didn't know how long you sat there until you fell asleep right next to Naruto.

* * *

You woke up to the sound of Tsunade and Shizune arguing. You feigned sleep and heard a door close.

When you got up, Shizune was unconscious on the floor and Tsunade was gone. You jumped up and quickly checked Shizune's pulse.

~She'll be ok . . . But why would Tsunade knock her out? ~

You looked toward the door.

~Right then. I'll follow her~

You quietly walked through the town all night, and when the sun started to rise, you walked to where the castle used to stand.

You quickly hid in a tree and watched the scene below.

~What was I thinking?! I can't take on two of the Sannin! The second Orochimaru uses his snake jutsu, I'll fall to pieces! And if Tsunade sides with Orochimaru, and she hits me, I'm dead, too! ~

You took a step back.

~I've gotta go get Jiraiya! ~

You felt the sharp tip of a kunai press against your throat.

"Well, well. Kari, it's been a while," a voice said from behind you.

"Kabuto," you hissed.

"I would love to stay and fight, but I need to get going. After you wake up though, try and catch up with me," he said hitting you in the neck.

Your eyes shut and you fell forward off the tree, landing on the ground beneath it.

* * *

"Kari-chan, wake up," Naruto said.

You opened your eyes and saw Naruto leaning over you.

"Stupid Kabuto and his stupid ninja skills. Stupid, stupid, stupid," you muttered as you sat up slowly.

You looked around and saw Jiraiya and Shizune standing next to the pig that was sniffing Tsunade's jacket.

"Naruto, Kari, come on. They went this way," Jiraiya said as Naruto helped you up.

You and Naruto followed Jiraiya and Shizune. Naruto filled you in on what was happening and you told them about following Tsunade.

You were approaching the large clearing where the fight was taking place.

Jiraiya threw a smoke bomb and the four of you appeared in front of Tsunade. You looked around as the smoke faded.

Kabuto was standing in front of you with Orochimaru farther back. You glared daggers at the Sound Nin, wishing with all your might that looks could kill.

"Hey! Kabuto," Naruto said pointing at the Sound ninja.

"Naruto," Kabuto said, mildly surprised to see the hyper boy.

He turned to you.

"Kari, you recover quickly," Kabuto said smirking.

"Kudos to me," you replied bitterly as you pulled out a kunai.

"You've met this guy before, Naruto, Kari?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well of course I have. We took the Chunin Exams together," Naruto answered. "What are you doing here, Kabuto?"

Tsunade shoved Jiraiya aside before Kabuto could answer. She attacked him, kicking and punching while he dodged. She cornered him at a boulder and prepared to strike.

Suddenly, Kabuto cut his hand, splattering blood all over Tsunade. She froze, staring at the red liquid in shock. Kabuto punched Tsunade in the face, sending her crashing into Shizune, who caught her.

"Wait did I miss something? Why's Kabuto attacking Grandma Tsunade?" asked Naruto.

"I see you're . . . as slow as ever . . . Naruto. No wonder . . . you're no match for Sasuke," Kabuto said breathing heavily.

"Leave my brother out of this!" you shouted to the traitor.

Kabuto smirked and chuckled softly.

"If you want your answer, just look at his headband," Jiraiya told Naruto. "He serves Orochimaru."

"That's right. I'm a spy from the Village Hidden in the Sound," said Kabuto.

"But you . . . you helped us get through the Chunin Exams, you saved our lives," Naruto said, trying to make sense of everything.

"Only in order to gather information about all of you, that was my mission," Kabuto said coolly. "Indeed, I learned one very important thing about you, Naruto. You lack any ninja ability. You're not a bit like Sasuke."

Naruto's surprised expression soon became angered and hurt.

"I told you to leave my brother out of this!" you shouted as you threw a kunai.

Kabuto caught it lazily.

"Katsu!" you shouted forming the hand sign.

A plume of smoke and fire appeared where Kabuto was standing and a great noise was heard. You felt Kabuto's chakra still in one piece.

~How could I miss?! ~

You ran toward the clearing smoke and pulled out your fan.

"Fire Style: Flaming Fan Jutsu!" you shouted as you waved your tessen.

Fire shot towards the smoke and missed as Kabuto disappeared.

"You've got to be kidding me," said a voice from behind you.

You turned and held your fan up to defend against the punch Kabuto threw at you. You slid a ways back and watched him carefully.

"I can't believe I let a weakling like you beat me in the preliminaries," Kabuto taunted.

You narrowed your eyes.

~Think, Kari, think! If you fight Taijutsu, he's definitely gonna get you with his Medical Ninjutsu and he's gonna dodge everything else. Genjutsu can only go so far though . . .~

"Ok! Here I come!" Kabuto shouted and he ran toward you with his chakra-covered hands.

You dodged his attack and slid your fan back into place in one fluid motion. He came at you again and you back flipped to dodge the attack. You landed on a boulder as he appeared above you. You jumped off to your right, performing several back flips to keep your balance. He was in front of you once more, pulling his fist back to punch you.

~He's got me playing cat and mouse . . . And I'm the mouse! I need to do something! ~

You quickly disappeared and reappeared behind Kabuto kicking him in the face. He turned and caught your ankle before it could impact and threw you back towards Jiraiya and Shizune. A solid form caught you and set you down.

You stood up as Kabuto jumped back to Orochimaru's side.

"Ah," you said as you crouched back down.

~My right ankle . . . He grabbed my right ankle with his jutsu before he threw me~

You looked up and saw Kabuto talking with Orochimaru. Orochimaru pull the bandages off of his left arm with his teeth.

"Shizune, I'll let you take care of Four-Eyes over there," Jiraiya said. "Just leave Orochimaru to me."

You saw Jiraiya step in front of you and Shizune took a step forward too.

"What about me and Kari?" asked Naruto.

"Don't do anything. Kari's damaged her ankle by being reckless; we don't want you ending up the same way. Just stand guard over Tsunade and the pig ok?" Jiraiya said.

You growled.

~I was not being reckless! ~

Jiraiya made hand signs as Kabuto wiped blood on Orochimaru's left arm and did the same.

"Summoning Jutsu!" they both shouted.

As the smoke cleared away, your eyes focused on the two giant snakes that Kabuto and Orochimaru were standing on. You froze as one of the snakes swayed back and forth, as if inspecting its prey.

A small frog had appeared in front of Jiraiya and Naruto had also performed the Summoning Jutsu, summoning another small frog.

The snakes dived for the group and you could only watch as they came closer and closer. Something grabbed you around the waist and pulled you out of the way. Naruto set you down quickly and returned to fight Kabuto.

~Of all the reptiles I had to be scared of . . . Why snakes? I'm practically useless now! ~

You looked up to see Naruto get thrown against a boulder by one of the snakes.

"Naruto!" you shouted.

You heard a thud and turned again to see Kabuto knock over Shizune and walk toward Tsunade. You stood and ran in front of the Sannin.

"Stay back!" you said to Kabuto.

He took another step forward. You stepped forward with a kunai in hand.

"Or I'll kill us both," you said revealing the exploding tag attached to the kunai's handle.

"Please, you're wasting your time," Kabuto said taking another step forward. "All I'd have to do is turn your head to see that snake over there and you'd collapse."

You narrowed your eyes.

"Try me," you challenged as you threw the kunai.

He easily dodged the attack and stepped forward. You held your hands up to block as you saw his hand come up. Instead, he grabbed your hair and kneed you in the gut, causing you to grab your stomach in pain.

"Aaahhh!" you shouted.

Kabuto released your hair, and you fell to the ground. He turned to Tsunade and pulled his fist back to attack. You watched as Naruto stepped in front of Kabuto and took the attack.

Naruto used Rasengan and charged. Kabuto dodged and hit Naruto's thigh, sending him to the ground.

"Naruto," you said softly.

You could only sit by and watch as Kabuto taunted your best friend. Kabuto started kicking Naruto.

"Naruto!" you cried as you attempted to stand.

Naruto caught Kabuto's foot and pushed it away.

"That's enough. I'm not gonna run away. I never go back on my word," he said standing up. "That's my nindo, my ninja way!"

"You should have stayed out of this, Naruto," Kabuto said as his hand glowed blue.

"No!" you said as you appeared in front of Naruto.

Kabuto hit you in the face and sent you flying back in front of Tsunade.

"Kari!" Naruto shouted before Kabuto did the same thing to him.

You turned to lie on your back.

~I can barely move . . . Dangit! ~

You turned your head to see Naruto standing up. You saw him make a Shadow Clone as Kabuto charged. Naruto grabbed Kabuto's hand to hold him still and used his Shadow Clone together chakra in his hand. Naruto's attack hit Kabuto in his stomach.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he sent Kabuto flying.

~He did it . . .~

Naruto suddenly fell backwards.

"No! Naruto!" you said as you slowly turned on your hands and knees.

Tsunade ran past you, sitting next to Naruto. You followed, sinking to the ground next to Naruto's head.

"Naruto on the other hand doesn't have that kind of power. He looks finished," Kabuto was saying.

Your hands gently held each side of Naruto's head as your thumbs stroked his cheeks. Tsunade pressed her ear to Naruto's chest, checking his heartbeat.

She jerked her head up as her jacket slid off her back.

"His heart is failing!" she said unzipping his jacket.

Your eyes widened.

~No. . . No you can't go, Naruto! ~

Tsunade tore Naruto's shirt open and pressed her hands to his chest, healing him. You saw the seal that keeps the Nine-Tails spirit inside Naruto on his stomach, and you pressed one hand against your own stomach.

~We are both marked . . . Both of us have a power . . . A destiny we are bound to . . . A destiny neither of us wants . . .~

"You're wasting your time. Its all over for him," Kabuto said from his position on the ground. "With my last strength, I severed his heart's chakra network. I cut him off from getting any help from the demon: The Nine Tailed Fox. And he hasn't the power to save himself. I'm telling you he's finished. Dead-"

"Oh, shut up!" Tsunade shouted. "You'll be dead soon, I'll see to that."

Your hands continued to hold on to Naruto's head, as if doing that would prevent him from dying. You suddenly felt the movement of air coming out of his mouth stop.

~No! He's stopped breathing! ~

You felt the tears already slipping down your face. Your tears dripped down onto Naruto's headband, and when you looked up, Tsunade's were falling onto his seal.

~You can't die Naruto . . . You still have to become Hokage . . . I still haven't told you . . .~

" . . . I love you, Naruto," you whispered.

You saw a hand slowly reach up to Tsunade's necklace, and grasp it.

"Hey . . . Don't forget our bet," Naruto muttered slowly with a small smile on his face. "Told ya . . . I'd win."

He closed his eyes as his mouth relaxed into a smile and his hand dropped back down to his side. You saw his chest start moving up and down and you felt his breath coming out of his mouth as well. Your tears sped up as you smiled.

"To be Hokage . . . That's still your dream, Naruto, isn't it," Tsunade said as she healed his hand where Kabuto's kunai knife had cut it.

She lifted his head and put the necklace on him.

You heard a crash and saw Jiraiya laying in the ground and Orochimaru flying toward Naruto with a sword coming out of his mouth.

Before you could think of moving, Tsunade was sitting on Naruto's other side with a sword through her chest.

Orochimaru jumped back as the sword and his tongue slithered back in his mouth.

"If I do nothing else, I will protect this boy!" Tsunade said.

Your eyes were still opened in shock, but your hands were still holding Naruto's head carefully.

"You see, this boy has been chosen by fate to become Hokage," Tsunade said as she looked back at Naruto.

"Even if this is true, what of it?" Orochimaru asked. "Only a fool would want to be Hokage."

Tsunade's eyes opened in shock.

* * *

"Only a fool would want to be Hokage."

Tsunade's eyes opened in shock as she remembered her own words earlier that week.

"_Playing Hokage . . . Its just a fool's game."_

Her eyes drifted toward Shizune, unconscious on the ground.

"Think of my uncle and your brother! It would be a betrayal of them, a betrayal of you! Have you forgotten all your dreams?!"

She could still see Jiraiya on the ground some ways behind her, struggling to move his limbs.

"Remember the Hokage, and all that have come before and all they've accomplished for the Leaf. They were willing to gamble everything, even their lives, to make sure that the Village survived and prospered through troubled times."

Naruto still lay behind Tsunade, unconscious but still alive.

"I won't let her do it! She can't sit there and make fun of the old man! I don't care if she is a lady, I'll knock that sneer off her face!"

She saw out of the corner of her eye, you sitting by Naruto's head, sitting by the boy you had the deepest feelings for.

"I promised him that I would help him. It's his dream to be Hokage, and I will help him. Even if I have to die . . . I will not break my promise."

Tsunade's hands pulled at the grass under her fingers.

"From now on, I'm gambling everything," she said. "I'm putting my life on the line, too."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it :) Rate and Review!

~Kiri-chan


	18. A Talk With Sasuke

Ok! I hope you like this chapter cause I reveal some of the history of Kari's fan! Woot! Rate and Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; I own Kari and my other OCs.

* * *

"I'm putting my life on the line, too," Tsunade said.

"Well, if you're really willing to throw your life away for the sake of this one insignificant brat, I'm happy to accommodate you!" Orochimaru said as the sword was pulled out of his mouth once again and it slashed Tsunade across the shoulder. She fell to the side and landed on the ground with a thud.

"Now all that's left, is Naruto himself," Orochimaru said as he walked closer.

"No!" you shouted. You moved around Naruto, laying your head on his chest and your arms spread out so Orochimaru could not hurt him.

Orochimaru chuckled.

"Out of my way, Kari. I don't want to kill you," Orochimaru said as he took another step closer.

"You're not getting near Naruto!" you shouted as the tears dripped out of the corners of your eyes.

"Very well, then!" he shouted as he brought the blade down to your back.

You closed your eyes and waited for the impact.

~I'll die for you Naruto . . . ~

You heard the sound of sword meeting flesh and you opened your eyes.

Tsunade was crouched in front of you, her head bent and Orochimaru's sword stuck in her back. The sword was once again pulled out and Tsunade lifted her head to look you in the eyes.

"Lady . . . Tsunade," you said quietly.

"Hm, you really are determined, aren't you? I'm impressed," Orochimaru said.

"Didn't I make it clear enough, you fool? I meant what I said. I will die before I let you touch him!" Tsunade said turning her face to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's eyes widened.

"You're half-dead already!" he shouted as he kicked her.

She flew over you and landed a foot away from Naruto.

"Lady Tsunade!" you said.

Orochimaru stepped forward and continued to taunt the female Sannin.

"You're shaking like a leaf, poor thing. You just can't shake that fear of blood, can you?"

Before you could blink, Tsunade was standing between you and Orochimaru, her leg high in the air while Orochimaru flew backwards.

"I just remembered something. I'm the Fifth Hokage!" Tsunade said.

You smiled. You saw Tsunade wipe some blood on her arm and Orochimaru jump over to Kabuto. You then heard three voices shout out, "Summoning Jutsu!"

You felt yourself being raised into the air and as the smoke cleared, you looked around. You saw Jiraiya standing upon a giant toad, Orochimaru and Kabuto on a giant snake, and you, Naruto, and Tsunade were on a giant slug.

"Woah," you whispered as you slowly sat up. You quickly glanced at Naruto to make sure that he was fine, then you examined the giant frog.

You remembered Naruto saying at one point before the Final Chunin Exam that Jiraiya had taught him how to summon the boss toad.

~I guess this is him . . . Gamabunta, Naruto said . . .~

"Katsuya, get the boy and girl down to Shizune quickly," you heard Tsunade tell the slug.

"Yes, my lady, at once," a voice replied.

~What? ~

You felt something rumble beneath you and you saw another smaller slug forming under you. You looked over to Naruto to see the same thing happening as well. You watched your slug slide off of Katsuya and drop to the ground and land with a loud thud.

"Woah," you said again.

"Shizune, please look after these two," the slugs said together.

"Naruto," Shizune said when she saw Naruto unconscious.

You stood as the slugs told Shizune to take you and Naruto some place safe while the battle takes place. You helped Shizune lift up Naruto and step further away from the battlefield.

You sat down, with your back to the giant snake named Manda. You wrapped your arms around each other as Shizune set Naruto down on the ground.

You watched his face, not looking at the battle. You cringed at the bangs and booms, and at one point, when you heard the crackling of fire you almost turned around.

"He's gone," you heard Shizune finally say.

You sighed.

"Good. I'm tired," you said as your eyes closed and you fell in a heap beside Naruto, your right hand resting on his heart.

* * *

"WHAT! The Fifth Hokage!"

Tsunade nodded her head while you smiled.

"Unbelievable, I'm out of it for a few minutes and I wake up to find out she's the Hokage," Naruto muttered as he crossed his arms.

"Is something bothering you, Naruto? What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked.

"Come on. Shouldn't the Hokage be kind and wise and everything? Like the Old Man used to be? And she's, well, mean and greedy, and with a nasty temper, and she's not all that smart," Naruto said. You watched as he started with the insults, Tsunade's smile turned into a frown. "Nothing personal, but its a big job and I'm not sure she's up to it."

"Well, umm . . . Lady Tsunade, are you ready to order?" asked Shizune.

"On top of that she's a fifty year old lady who uses jutsu to make herself look younger. I just wonder if we really want a Hokage like that. You know, someone who's living a lie," Naruto finished.

"You wanna take this outside, kid?!" Tsunade shouted in Naruto's face.

~Here we go again~

Outside, you and Jiraiya stood next to Naruto while Shizune stood beside Tsunade. Once again, Tsunade held up one finger.

"One finger's all I'm gonna need," she said.

You and Jiraiya backed up while Shizune stepped away from Tsunade.

"Not this time, Grandma! Remember, I'm gonna be Hokage myself one day," Naruto said firmly.

Naruto charged and punched at her, but Tsunade ducked and when she came up, she knocked his headband off with her finger, sending it flying. She raised her finger to flick his forehead and Naruto closed his eyes.

She pulled her finger away and gently kissed his forehead, instead. Naruto opened his eyes and Tsunade pulled away. She raised her hand and patted his chest where the necklace rested.

"You'll grow up to be a fine man," she said as she smiled.

Naruto smiled and folded his hands behind his head.

"You bet!" he said.

You smiled and blushed.

~Not to mention a great Hokage~

"Ok, everyone. Let's head home. To the Leaf Village," Jiraiya said.

"Wait! I haven't eaten, yet!" Naruto shouted.

You burst out laughing with everyone else as you all started the long walk home.

* * *

You were sitting at Sasuke's bedside in the hospital when you heard a noise behind you. You and Sakura looked up.

"May I come in?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura stood up while you turned your face back to the bed, putting your hand on Sasuke's forehead.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura! Sakura!" shouted Naruto as he ran in. "You'll never believe it. She's gonna make everything ok again! Don't worry, Sasuke's gonna be all right now."

You watched Tsunade walk over and stand across from you. You stood and removed your hand. Tsunade placed her hand where yours just left, and her hand glowed green. After a few seconds, you saw Sasuke move. His eyes opened.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said.

"Sasuke," Sakura said quietly.

Tsunade removed her hand and Sasuke sat up.

"Oh, Sasuke!" Sakura said as she ran forward and threw her arms around his neck.

Your eyes narrowed and you took a step back as Sakura sobbed on Sasuke.

"Hey, you're back," Naruto said. He saw Sakura still sobbing and he dropped his smile. His eyes dropped to the floor.

You noticed Naruto's expression as he walked out the door and you frowned.

~Of course . . . He's still crushing on Sakura . . . He was unconscious when I told him how I felt . . .~

You sighed and sat back down in your seat as everyone else walked out of the room. Sakura finally got off of Sasuke and wiped her eyes.

"I have to go. Bye," she muttered as she ran out the door.

Sasuke sat in silence with his hands lying limp in his lap. After a few minutes, he turned his head toward you and looked you in the eyes. You sighed.

"When the hospital releases you, we'll talk," you promised as you stood up. You walked to the door and stopped. Your head turned to see Sasuke's eyes still on you.

"I'm glad you're better, Nii-chan," you said quietly before walking out the door.

* * *

The next day, you ran to the Nakano Shrine and waited for Sasuke to show up. Early in the morning, you heard him walking down the stairs. He entered the room with a look of surprise on his face. You stared at each other for a few seconds before he smirked and walked further in the room.

"So . . . You actually found this place, huh?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, I did," you said shrugging your shoulders.

"Hn."

You walked to the table and pulled the cloth off. Sasuke didn't look surprised, so you assumed that he had already read that. You pointed at a particular kanji that appeared several times in the last half of the writing. Sasuke walked forward and read the word.

"Tessen . . . What is it?"

"Its a type of war fan, my fan to be exact," you started.

"But here it talks about the tessen as if it were a person," Sasuke interrupted.

You narrowed your eyes.

"I was getting to that," you said irritably. "Long ago, when the Uchiha was a young clan, and the Hidden Villages were few, tessenjutsu was a popular art. The men of the Uchiha considered it foolish, and so the women of the clan made it their own, because they were unable to use the clan's kekkei genkai, Sharingan."

You saw Sasuke was interested so you continued.

"The wives of the Uchiha elders created a special fan, one that could be used in fire style techniques. The fan was unique because of this and the fact that it chose its owner."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Every time a girl was born in the clan, the current owner would take the fan to the girl and allow the child to touch it."

You raised your shirt enough for Sasuke to see the mark on your stomach.

"If the girl was chosen by the fan, this mark would appear on her stomach, and when the owner of the fan died, it would be passed onto the girl."

You paused and lowered your shirt.

"Some time after the Uchiha and Senju clans formed an alliance, and created this village, the two leaders fought. It was believed that the current leader of the Uchiha stole the fan from its current owner, killing her in a battle for possession of the tessen, and used this weapon in his battle against the First Hokage. The First Hokage won and the Uchiha leader was killed. The next owner of the tessen retrieved the fan from the battle field and hid it, saying that its power was too great if a male Uchiha stole it."

You did not miss the strange flash in Sasuke's eyes, but you continued anyway.

"Not even a week later, a clairvoyant prophesied the destruction of the Leaf, saying that the Nine-Tailed Fox would destroy it with the help of the next tessen and the first of the Mangeyeko Sharingan users. Of course, no one believed part of prophecy because both of the people who first discovered Mangeyeko Sharingan were dead. They did think that the next tessen would destroy the village, however, and the women of the clan took extra measures to hide it."

You pulled the fan out and snapped it open.

"As you can see, I still found it."

Sasuke's eyes opened wide.

"You . . . You're going to destroy the Leaf?" he asked.

"No, of course not. That's what the prophecy said, but I don't buy it," you said confidently. "Besides, why would I want to destroy a place I love so much?"

You were both silent.

"So . . . Only girls can use that thing?" asked Sasuke.

"You weren't listening at all were you? I said that one of the leaders of the clan used it in his battle against the First Hokage. For some reason, the fan only works for those who have the mark. When that Uchiha leader touched the fan, he received the mark," you concluded.

You saw Sasuke's hand twitch, urging to touch the fan you held. Your eyes met his and he frowned.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about the Sharingan and everything Itachi told you that night," you said referring to the night of the massacre.

Sasuke's hands clenched into fists. His eyes flashed as he glared at you.

"I never agreed to this," he said, trying to control his anger.

"And you never would have," you said. "If I hadn't already told you about the fan."

"Why would you want to know about a power that you could never have?" Sasuke asked.

"Why would you want to know about a power you could never control?" you retorted.

Sasuke glared at you a bit longer before looking down.

"He only told me how to find this place. Everything else he said is all there," he said nodding at the table.

You nodded. You had thought as much, but you wanted to be sure and you had wanted Sasuke to know that he could trust you.

"Thanks," you muttered as you walked out the door.

* * *

"Team Akira. I am giving you a mission," Tsunade said to your team the next morning. "An old friend of mine requires protection while he travels back to his homeland, the Land of Earth. Unfortunately, he needs to be there by the end of the week, so you are going to have to take the shortcut."

She pulled down a map and pointed at the area in the Land of Fire where you were now.

"You are going to have to travel between the Hidden Grass and Rain Villages to make it on time," she finished.

"Lady Hokage, who is this old friend of yours?" asked Shiori.

The door opened behind you, and your team turned to see the person entering.

He was very tall and muscular and wore a black t-shirt with green ninja pants. Over his shirt he wore white straps that crisscrossed, making and x shape. You could see two small katana handles peeking over his shoulder. His hands were covered in wrappings, and he wore leather bracelets all up and down his wrists. His skin was a deep tan color. His eyes were a dark brown and his hair was dark sienna color and spiky. When you saw a headband wrapped around his forehead with the Hidden Rock Village's insignia, you blinked and turned back to Tsunade.

"Team Akira, this is Kyo Tsuyoi. Kyo, this is Akira Shuujuku, Shiori Mekikei, Kozu Sentou, and Kari Uchiha," Tsunade said.

"Wait a second! If he's a ninja, why does he need protection from a Genin team like us?" Kozu asked loudly.

Tsunade raised her eyebrow and sighed.

"Kyo," she prompted.

"Right," Kyo replied in a deep, husky voice. "On my way to the Leaf, I overheard a conversation in a hotel. I'm sure it was between an underground bounty master and a bounty hunter. They were discussing the latest additions to the underground bounty list, and I overheard my name."

"Wait, the underground?" you asked.

Kyo nodded his head.

"The underground likes to put bounties on some of the top ninjas' heads, and criminals who want money collect the corpses of the bounties and take them to a secret area where they exchange the corpse for the money."

"But if you're a top ninja, wouldn't you be able to take down the bounty hunters?" you asked.

"Sadly, no. The bounty hunter that has been active most recently is a man named Kakuzu. If there is a top ninja to be hunted, he'll do it," Kyo said with a frown.

"So why a Genin team?" asked Kozu.

"Because all the Jonin, Chunin, and even ANBU are busy protecting our borders while we repair our walls," Tsunade said. "We're having to send Genin teams out on A-ranked missions, otherwise our clients will send their missions to other villages."

Your team nodded their heads.

"Ok. The mission starts now," Tsunade said.

"Hai!" you said with Kozu and Shiori.

* * *

Five minutes later, you were waiting for everyone at the front gate. Your client walked up to the gate moments later.

"Kari, isn't it?" he asked in his husky voice.

You nodded. He smiled.

"So, which one is Shiori and which one is Kozu?" he asked casually.

You were surprised that he remembered their names after only hearing them once.

"Shiori's the smart blonde and Kozu's the dumb red head," you said as you smiled back.

Kyo let out a chuckle, which you noticed was also husky. You vaguely wondered if everything about him was husky. He seemed like the husky kind of guy.

"And what about Kari?" he asked.

You furrowed your brow in concentration. Then you sighed and looked up to the sky.

"Kari's the smart, pretty, funny, strong girl on Team Akira," a voice said.

You and Kyo turned to see Akira walking toward you with Shiori and Kozu right behind him.

You blushed at the comments your sensei made before calling out, "Hey, Akira-sensei. What took you so long?"

Akira reached the gate and smiled.

"Sorry. These two were bickering over-"

"Ok! That's enough, Sensei!" Kozu shouted as he put a hand over his sensei's mouth. Shiori chuckled at his loud-mouthed teammate and walked over to you.

"What were you fighting about?" you asked quietly.

Shiori blushed.

"Girls," Shiori said hesitantly, not looking you in the eye.

Before you could say anything, Akira spoke up.

"Ok! Let's go! I'll take front. Kozu, you take second with Kyo right behind you. Kari, you follow Kyo and Shiori follow Kari. Everybody, got it? Ok!"

You set out after Kyo and smiled.

~About time we got a good mission~

* * *

:) I hope you enjoyed! Rate and Review!

~Kiri-chan


	19. Ambushed In The Rain

* * *

You had been traveling all day long, nonstop, when the sun finally fell low in the sky, casting an orange glow to the earth.

"We'll stop at the next town and get a room at a hotel," Akira said.

"Hai!" you replied in unison with Kozu and Shiori.

You reached a town not even five minutes later, and followed your team up to the first hotel you could find.

"Awesome! They have a hot spring!" you whispered excitedly to your teammates. Kozu rolled his eyes while Shiori sighed.

You held back a laugh as Akira approached the desk and asked for three rooms. The desk clerk eyed the group a bit before smoothly saying, "Of course. Here are your room keys. Enjoy your stay."

As you followed your team upstairs, you glanced back behind you to see the clerk looking at you before writing something down. You shook your head and continued walking.

~I need to stop being so paranoid . . . Ugh~

You entered your room while Kozu and Shiori entered the room on your right, and Akira and Kyo entered the room across the hallway. You dropped your bag on the bed and quickly grabbed a towel from the bathroom and hurried to Kozu and Shiori's room.

After knocking on the door for a few minutes, you heard a groan as Shiori opened the door.

"What?" he asked.

"Let's go to the hot spring," you said with a smile on your face.

Shiori looked confused.

"Why would you ask us to go with you? You're just going to have to go to the girls anyway," he said.

"Just make sure you guys bring shorts or something," you said. Realization dawned on Shiori as he closed the door and told Kozu to grab some shorts and a towel.

When you and the boys left the room and made your way downstairs, you each held a towel and a swimsuit of some kind, and each of you had a slight blush on your face.

You sneaked into the boy's hot spring and after making sure that no one else was there, you slipped into your swimsuit and jumped into the scalding water. You came up gasping for air with a large smile on your face.

Kozu and Shiori were stepping into the water slowly, quietly laughing. You ducked under water again to hide your blush when you saw the well-toned muscles on the boys' chest.

When you came up once more, they were sitting in the water, relaxing. You slowly walked over and squeezed yourself between them.

"Excuse me, I believe this is my spot," you said as you settled yourself. The boys chuckled as you put your arms around their necks.

"I needed this," you sighed.

"You needed to see me and Shiori half naked?" asked Kozu jokingly.

You raised your hand that was wrapped around his neck and hit his head.

"Ow!" Kozu said loudly.

"Ssshhhhh," you and Shiori whispered.

The three of you looked at each other before bursting into quiet laughter.

* * *

You finally sneaked back into the hotel two hours later and walked up the stairs. You, Kozu, and Shiori turned to your hallway and stopped immediately.

"Uh oh," you muttered.

Akira stood in the hall with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He was barefoot and had removed his Jonin vest. He looked at your wet swimsuit and the boys' wet shorts and his frown deepened.

~Oh crap . . .~

You now sat on your bed, squeezed once again between Kozu and Shiori with Akira standing in front of you.

"We are on a mission. That mission is to protect our client at all times. You can goof off some other time," Akira lectured. He glared at the two boys on either side of you. "I expected better of you two. You are older and you have been on my team longer, therefore you know my rules." He turned to you. "I expected better of you, Kari. I thought you took missions seriously."

Your face heated with embarrassment at these words.

"Get to bed. We have a long journey tomorrow," Akira said gruffly.

Shiori and Kozu stood and hurried off to their room. Akira stared at you for a little longer then he too walked away.

You changed into your pajamas and climbed under the sheets. You were almost asleep when you bolted upright in bed. You had just realized what Akira seemed like to you.

~He . . . He was acting like a father . . . ~

You lay back down and thought about your realization. When you were a little girl, you had once compared your father with other fathers. You would play in the park sometimes, and when the fathers came to pick up their kids, you would study their attitudes and personalities. That's when you first realized that your father didn't treat you like he should.

* * *

_You were swinging on a swing like most of the other girls._

_"Whee!" you yelled as you jumped off your swing. You landed on your feet and then fell backwards. You started laughing and then jumped up._

_You saw a group of adults coming to pick up their children._

_The first man you saw was tall and his long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail._

_"Come on, Ino. Time to go home!" he called out._

_You watched Ino run toward her father and get pulled into a big hug. He kissed her on the head and she laughed happily as he walked off with her._

_The next man to walk up was quite large, but not fat. His red hair was held off of his face by a white band wrapped around his head, and he had a wavy line on each cheek._

_"Choji, let's go. You're mother's making barbeque for dinner!" the man called._

_Little Choji ran up to his dad and was lifted high into the air before getting a large hug. They walked away side by side._

_A man with a large jacket on with a collar that covered most of his face was approaching the playground. He wore dark sunglasses and his hair was spiky and black._

_"Come, Shino," he called._

_Shino walked up to his dad, and gave him a hug. His father crouched down at Shino's level and hugged back before walking off with his son._

_Yet another man walked forward, stoic and emotionless, he called out to his daughter._

_"Hinata. Let's go."_

_The little, shy girl walked up to her father and hugged his leg. He ruffled her hair lightly and walked toward their home, with the little girl running to keep up._

_One last man lazily trudged toward the playground and yelled for the lazy boy watching the clouds._

_"Come on, Shikamaru. We don't want to keep your mother waiting. You know how troublesome she gets."_

_Shikamaru walked over to his dad with his hands in his pockets, and they continued to talk about troublesome women and other things that were a drag to do._

_You finally saw your father in the distance, walking slowly toward the playground to pick up you and Sasuke._

_"Father!" you shouted out when you saw him. You ran to give him a hug, but only wrapped your arms around his leg. You waited for him to mess up your hair with his hand, to kneel down next to you and return the hug. Instead, you heard a voice call out to Sasuke._

_"Come Sasuke. Your mother is almost finished with dinner. We must not be late," Fugaku said._

_You released your father's leg, and slowly followed behind Sasuke, who your father walked beside. There was no conversation on the way home, no hugs or kisses on the head, no laughing or giggling. Just the small footsteps of your feet and Sasuke's compared to the slightly louder footsteps of your father._

* * *

You realized now that for some reason, your father never really acknowledged you. You had tried to do really well in school, and you had succeeded. But your father didn't even spare you a glance. You tried getting into trouble. But again, your father didn't even say a word about it.

It was usually Itachi who was the father-like figure. He was there for you when Fugaku should have been, but wasn't. And when Itachi left . . . well you fell to pieces.

You stared at the white ceiling above your head and thought about how Akira had congratulated you when you went on to the final rounds of the Chunin Exams. How he had just now been disappointed in you because you had sneaked out when you should have been resting for your long journey tomorrow.

You sighed and rolled over to lay sideways.

Your face broke out into a smile as you snuggled deeper under the covers.

~If anyone right now could replace my dad . . . I'd be glad if Akira-sensei would do it . . .~

You slept a deep sleep that night, with no dreams and no nightmares and no more memories.

* * *

"We're almost at the border. Does everyone remember their disguises?" asked Akira the next afternoon.

"Hai!"

"Good. Ok. Everybody ready? Transform!"

The five ninja in the small clearing immediately became five travelers who didn't know where they were going.

You looked at Akira sensei, who was now an older man with light-colored hair and ragged clothes. Kyo also looked older, or perhaps he looked more like his age than before. He was no longer dark-skinned, but almost looked like Akira's older brother. Shiori and Kozu were both in their thirties now, with black hair and matching blue eyes that were almost navy colored. You were also older than before, maybe older than Kozu and Shiori, with dark brown hair and eyes and ragged clothing as well. Of course this is not what made you upset.

"Why do I have to be a boy?" you hissed.

"Because, Kari," Akira explained once again. "If enemies find out that you are a girl, they will attack you first, wrongly thinking that you are the weakest."

You huffed and followed the rest of the team as they crossed the border and traveled into the Land of Rain.

True to its name, the Land of Rain was raining. Heavily.

You were already sopping wet, and that didn't go well with you, considering your fire natured chakra and jutsu. If you were attacked, you would only be able to use Taijutsu or Genjutsu.

You frowned and continued walking.

The next day passed like this as well. As soon as you checked out of the hotel you were staying at, you would transform into a different alias, for security measures.

You were grumpy the next day for the same reasons. Once again, it was raining cats and dogs. Once again, you were upset because you had to be disguised as a boy (this time as a 25 year old who appeared to be a blacksmith with light colored hair and dark eyes). And once again, you had to check into a smelly dirty hotel that night.

"Good news," Akira whispered as they walked upstairs to their rooms. "We should be out of here by midday tomorrow. Then we can travel at our normal pace."

You nodded, as did your teammates. Akira didn't want to let anyone who might be listening figure out what he was talking about, so you kept quiet.

The next day, you once again left the hotel and when you were far enough away, you transformed again in a small wooded area. Little did your team know that they were being watched.

* * *

"Leader-sama. It is confirmed," said the strange man with a Venus flytrap enveloping his body. "There are fugitives in your country."

The man in the shadow looked up with piercing eyes.

"Who?" he asked.

"We're not for sure," said the lighter half of the strange man, for what part of his human body could be seen was split into two colors: black and white.

"But we suspect that one's a girl considering how she complains about transforming into a guy," the darker half said.

The man, Leader-sama, blinked and frowned. He took a step forward into the light, revealing orange-red hair that spiked in several directions. His face was covered with multiple piercings and his eyes were a strange design. They looked hypnotic in that they were concentric around the pupil and were a dark gray color.

"Anything else, Zetsu?" he asked the other man.

Zetsu paused before answering.

"There is a report from one of our spies in the Land of Fire. One of Kakuzu's. Anyway, he said that one of the underground's targets passed through with four shinobi of Konoha," replied the lighter half.

Leader-sama waited for more.

The darker half spoke next.

"The spy said that the underground bounty was named Kyo Tsuyoi, a new addition to the list. The others were a Jonin and three Genin: two boys and one girl."

Leader-sama closed his eyes and almost sighed. He opened them very slowly.

"But that's not all," he said. It wasn't a question.

"No," the darker Zetsu said.

"The only other interesting fact was about the girl," the lighter Zetsu said. "She's an Uchiha."

Leader-sama's breath caught in his throat.

~Uchiha? ~

"Leave," Leader said to Zetsu.

"Hai," Zetsu said nodding his head. He walked to the wall and melted into it, racing at a fast pace back to spy on this strange group.

Seconds later, a man appeared behind Leader.

"Well?" he asked, hiding in the shadows.

Leader answered without turning around.

"There's an Uchiha in my country . . . And she brought friends."

The man in the shadows chuckled as he took note of the word "she."

"Send Kakuzu in after his bounty, and tell Hidan not to kill the girl," he said.

"Hai," Leader replied. But the man in the shadows had gone.

* * *

You sighed as your team finally stopped to rest. You weren't tired (it was only walking after all); you were just bored.

The group had stopped under a large tree, attempting to stay dry despite the rain pouring down.

You reached into your bag and pulled out a rice cake. Your stomach growled and you eagerly took a big bite.

Akira looked out from under the tree at the rain with Kyo sitting across from him. Kozu and Shiori were looking for something to eat in their bags about a foot away from you.

You heard Akira sigh and speak.

"We might have to wait another day if this goes on. I never expected it could rain so hard. We could go anyway, but we don't know if someone might be spying on us."

Your mood immediately dropped. Sure you liked water as much as the next person, but you could only take so much of it.

You finished your rice cake, wishing it were a bowl of warm ramen and that Naruto were here with you. But Naruto was on a different mission in the Land of Tea.

You looked up. Something seemed different. You peered out from under the tree.

~It stopped raining! ~

You looked to your teammates, who looked confused at the sudden halt in precipitation. You stepped out from under the tree and instantly jumped back to the group.

A large scythe landed in the spot where you had been standing.

"We're being attacked," Akira said as he jumped up and stood with Kyo in front of you, Kozu, and Shiori.

The scythe was pulled out of the ground by a chain that was attached to the handle, and out of the shadows of another large tree, two men appeared.

They both wore strange cloaks, though one man's was unbuttoned to reveal a muscular chest, and both a headband and a necklace tied around his neck. This man had gray hair that was slicked back and he had the large scythe in his hand.

The other man's head was covered by a gray mask with a black mask concealing his mouth, the only visible part of his face being the bright green eyes. His headband that showed that he was a missing-nin from the Waterfall Village was wrapped around his forehead.

~Those . . . cloaks . . .~

An image of Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki wearing the same outfits appeared in your head.

~Akatsuki! ~

The man with the scythe cursed before calling out.

"You're a quick little kid, huh? Don't worry, I'll fix that!"

"Shut up, Hidan. We need to focus," the other man said.

The man named Hidan cursed again before turning to his comrade.

"Why do we need to focus, Kakuzu? They're weaklings. We can beat them easily," he said with a sadistic smile on his face.

Kakuzu shook his head, obviously annoyed.

"One of these is my target. You can have the others," Kakuzu said.

He paused and glanced at each of your faces.

"Well . . . Most of the others," he said in a reminding tone.

You were confused.

~What is going on here? ~

Hidan muttered a few choice words that you were glad you couldn't hear before shouting out.

"Why does he gotta take all my fun away! I mean, come on! He knows I like slaughtering the girls best!" he belted out.

You stiffened, as did your teammates.

~He's not allowed to 'slaughter' me? ~

Kakuzu took a step forward, and he slowly proceeded to get closer to the tree that your group was hiding under.

"Hand over Tsuyoi and the girl. If you don't, your death will be excruciatingly painful," he threatened.

Your mind immediately went to strategies.

~Me and Kyo can't run off . . . That would make it obvious that we're the targets . . . I can't fight though either . . . If I defend or block, my moves will be too feminine . . . I can't use any jutsu either . . . We're stuck! ~

You grimaced, and you saw Kozu and Shiori twitch. They wanted to move in front of you. They wanted to protect you. But that would give you away.

Akira spoke slowly.

"Not a chance. What would you want with her?"

Kakuzu shrugged and Hidan looked angry that he didn't know either.

"We just do what we're told," Kakuzu said casually.

You saw Akira stiffen as well and you wondered if he knew about Akatsuki.

You saw that Hidan was carefully watching you and the two on either side of you.

~Probably trying to figure out which one's me . . .~

"It looks like we don't have a choice, then," Kakuzu said. He then spoke to Hidan without turning his head. "Don't kill any of them just yet. The girl has to live."

You almost shuddered at these words, but held back.

You saw a flash of silver and you jumped out of the way as the three-spiked scythe landed where you had been standing. Shiori had jumped off to the right, Kozu to the left. You realized your mistake when you reached your peak and Hidan appeared in front of you.

"No where to run, kid," he said.

You were forcefully pushed into the large tree behind you. Hidan had his scythe pressed against your neck, tempted to draw blood.

"So, are you the girl or shall I kill your friends over there?" he asked.

You scowled and held back the noise in your throat that wanted to growl and attack this man from Akatsuki. He saw the dilemma in your face and smirked.

"Hey, Kakuzu! Told you this one's the girl!" he shouted out to his partner.

You glared at him. He sighed.

"Too bad, I can't kill you. Jashin likes to hear the girls call out for their boyfriends. Its pitiful, really," he said remorsefully.

You realized that he already knew you were a girl, and the other one was fighting to kill anyway, so you stopped your jutsu. The smoke faded quickly, and Hidan's smirk grew more pronounced as he viewed your real body.

He played with his scythe, letting the three spikes press against you, so that the smaller one tickled your neck dangerously. The second one was pressed against your chest, which was most likely the reason why Hidan was almost chuckling now, and the longest spike rested on your stomach, almost directly on the mark that you had been given from your fan.

"I wonder . . ." he muttered before chancing a glance back up at your face.

He lowered the scythe by a few inches, and let the sharp tip of the longest spike play with the bottom of your shirt.

Your eyes narrowed. So, the Akatsuki knew you were the tessen.

Brilliant.

You held back a gasp as the cold blade lifted your shirt slowly and moved along your abdomen. He stopped when he saw the beginning of your mark. It started out rounded, like most small tongues of fire. Hidan continued to lift the shirt, watching how the tattoo-like mark grew into a flame.

When you saw that the whole mark was visible, you relaxed. Slightly.

Until you felt the scythe continue to move upward, a little faster than normal. Your eyes jumped to the man's face, as he chuckled.

"Hidan, stop playing with the girl. She isn't yours to mess with! Come finish off these other guys!" Kakuzu called out.

Hidan growled and cursed his partner under his breath. You silently thanked Kakuzu for calling off Hidan. Hidan noticed your look of relief and smirked again.

"Don't worry. I'm coming back soon," he chuckled as he pulled his scythe away slowly.

You started to move away from the tree, but Hidan threw something in your direction. You felt something light go over your torso several times before yanking you back to the tree.

~Wire! ~

You couldn't move your arms, and your legs were useless as well. You grumbled to yourself wondering why the guy with the SCYTHE had to be the guy that tortured women.

You shivered before looking back at the battle seen. Before you had been too focused on Hidan, hoping that he wouldn't slice you in half. You could now see the scene going on before you.

Kakuzu had been taking on Akira and Kyo, who were no longer in disguise, and it seemed he had just gotten Kozu and Shiori out of the way with an Earth Style jutsu.

You grimaced as Hidan walked back to Kakuzu to help in battle.

~I've got to get out! ~

You shifted your right arm so it was closer to your kunai pouch, and your fingers slid in, searching for the cold metal.

~Got it! ~

You pulled out the kunai and slowly lifted the blade to the restraining wire and pulled. The wires snapped, and you immediately jumped over to Kozu and Shiori.

"Man, I have got to learn that jutsu," Kozu was muttering.

You helped them up and asked if they were ok. They nodded their heads and turned to the battle.

"Well, its about time something interesting happened," you muttered.

~I just wish it didn't have to be Akatsuki . . .~

* * *

Sigh. . . Poor Kari. . . In case Hidan's reaction didn't help you figure it out, Kari is pretty mature looking for her age. . . Just so ya know :)

Rate and Review pleasies

~Kari-chan


	20. Promoted

Jumpy chapter. . . sorry. . .

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only Kari and my other OCs.

* * *

Akira and Kyo jumped back to join you, Kozu, and Shiori.

"What are we gonna do, Sensei?" you asked.

He turned and looked at you.

"Kozu and Shiori are going to take you away. Complete the mission. Take Kyo home, then take the long route back to the Leaf," Akira replied.

"No!" you said angrily.

"Yeah, we won't leave you, Sensei!" Kozu agreed.

"We're a team," said Shiori.

Akira frowned. Then his gaze softened and he sighed.

"Fine. But we have to hold them off. We aren't fighting to win. We are fighting to live, got it?" he said.

"Hai," you replied. You turned to your teammates. "Shiori?"

"Already on it," he said making hand signs.

"Good. Kozu?" you asked turning to your other teammate.

"Ready!" he said with a happy smile on his face.

"Ok, let's go!" you said as Akira and Kyo watched. "Attack the guy with the scythe. He doesn't look too smart."

"Hai!" the boys said in response.

Kyo turned to Akira.

"I suppose we have Kakuzu," he said.

Akira nodded his head and ran toward the bounty hunter with Kyo right behind him.

"Shiori," you said as Hidan turned to your group and started to walk forward.

"Done!" he shouted as Hidan stopped in his tracks, stalled by the Genjutsu.

"Kozu, you're next," you whispered as Hidan started shouting out and cursing.

"Hai," he said in a soldier-like tone as he made hand signs and disappeared.

You pulled out your exploding kunai.

"And I'm ready, too," you whispered.

Seconds later, Hidan was pulled underground with only his head sticking out and Kozu reappeared behind you.

He shouted more choice words, and you jumped in the air, throwing six kunai at the target. The kunai surrounded Hidan's head and he laughed.

"That's pathetic! Can't even throw a kunai straight!" he shouted out as you landed.

You smiled and made the hand sign.

Both Hidan and Kakuzu watched as you shouted out.

"Katsu!"

The area around Hidan exploded, leaving a large hole in the ground.

You turned to Kozu, who laughed.

"We just beat an S-ranked criminal!" he shouted.

You frowned. It was too easy. Something wasn't right.

Something landed in front of you.

It cursed and shouted.

It was Hidan's head.

Kozu and Shiori took a step back.

"What . . . is he?" asked Shiori.

You watched the head curse some more, and shout for Kakuzu.

"Come on, Kakuzu! Why didn't you stop them! This is such a pain! I can't even kill the wench that did this!" he shouted out. "Bring me my body, Kakuzu!"

Kakuzu walked nonchalantly away from Kyo and Akira to the talking head.

When he got closer to you, you sunk into a defensive position, just in case. He examined you quickly and quietly before bending down and picking up Hidan's dismembered head by his hair.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing? I said bring my body to me!" Hidan shouted.

"Your head's lighter," Kakuzu replied.

Hidan continued to shout as Kakuzu jumped into the large hole where the rest of his body lay.

~Is he . . . immortal? ~

You shot a worried glance to your sensei. His mouth was set in a deep frown, and his eyes were narrowed. His eyebrows were wrinkled together as he thought of a strategy to kill an immortal.

You saw Kakuzu hold Hidan's head to his neck as a black string drifted out of his sleeve, sewing the head back to the neck.

"What the!" you shouted angrily.

Both of the Akatsuki climbed out of the hole and started to walk towards you. You pulled out your fan and snapped it open in one motion, then pulled it back.

"Fire Style: Dance of Flames!" you shouted as you swung the fan across your body.

The fire created a wall between your teammates and the Akatsuki. Akira and Kyo appeared on either side of you, ready to help.

The flames died out, and the two enemies walked forward. You growled and took some steps forward to meet them.

"No! Kari!" Akira said loudly.

You ignored him.

When Hidan and Kakuzu stopped just feet away from you, you held your fan in front of you as a precaution.

"Stand aside," Kakuzu threatened.

"No," you said firmly.

"Fine!" Hidan shouted as he jumped forward.

"Fire Style: Flaming Fan Jutsu!" you shouted as you waved your fan, sending fireballs toward your charging enemy.

He cursed as your fire burned him, and he took a few steps back.

"If you want them," you said jerking your head back at your team, "you're gonna have to kill me."

Hidan and Kakuzu exchanged glances.

Of course they could easily get past you, but every time they attacked one of your teammates, you would most likely jump in front and take the blow.

Suddenly, Hidan shouted out.

"Oh come on! Wait a minute! This was just getting good!"

You stared at both of them, wondering what they were doing.

"I'm just saying, give us some time!" Hidan continued as he grabbed his head.

"Let's go, Hidan. Some other time," Kakuzu said.

"What!? This sucks!" Hidan continued to rant.

Kakuzu turned to you and examined you once again in curiosity. Then he turned and walked away with a muttering Hidan following.

When they were out of sight, you sat down on the ground, completely confused. You looked at the sky and jumped back up.

"Come on, let's get out of here," you said as you grabbed your bag.

The others grabbed theirs as well, and they followed you out from under the tree, and out of the Land of Rain as fast as possible.

* * *

"Good-bye, Kyo," you said as you stood outside his home the next day.

He bowed his head, and then looked you in the eye.

"Thank you, all of you, for keeping me safe and risking your lives. I look forward to visiting you in Konoha another time," he said.

"Bye," you said again as you walked off with your team.

When you left the village, you took the longer route home, and made it to the Leaf the next morning.

* * *

"Hey, Sasuke," you said, sitting down next to his hospital bed.

When you had returned to Konoha, Naruto had immediately informed you that Sasuke had been injured in their last mission, and was still in the hospital recovering. You ran to the hospital as soon as possible to visit.

Sasuke looked at you out of the corner of his eye and you saw his fists tighten the slightest bit. You ignored the hostility and reached out your hand.

"Sasuke. Are you ok?" you asked.

Your fingers brushed his, and his hand jerked away. You pulled your hand back.

"Sorry," you muttered.

The door opened, and Sakura walked in. She saw you and her face became surprised.

"Oh, Kari, you're back," she said as she sat on Sasuke's other side.

"Yeah," you said just as the door burst open once again.

A Jonin was at the door, breathing heavily.

"Kari Uchiha, Lady Hokage wants to see you immediately," he said.

"Hai," you said. You sighed.

"See you later, Sasuke, Sakura," you said as you walked out the door.

* * *

When you reached her office, you saw that Shikamaru and the proctors for the Chunin Exams were there as well.

"Hey, Shikamaru," you said.

"Hey, Kari," Shikamaru said lazily.

Tsunade called your attention.

"To be honest, I don't know what to do. The final exam being suspended, it is appealing of many, and that none of the students should pass this time around, including you. However, I hear that the Third Hokage had nothing but the highest praise for your matches. It seems he meant to recommend you for Chunin. In fact, all those who observed the matches and the proctors felt the same, so in this case, my opinion really doesn't matter. From this day forth I hope you will strive to achieve a level of excellence worthy of that headband. Congratulations. As of this moment, you stand a Chunin," Tsunade finished.

Your eyes opened wide as Izumo and Kotetsu, two Chunin, held out two green vests for you and Shikamaru.

You gladly accepted yours as Shikamaru slid his on and slouched away.

You bowed respectfully to each of the judges in the room and ran out the door, wishing that you had made that bet with Kozu in the dumpling shop all that time ago.

You ran home and changed into your blue cami that had the Uchiha symbol on its stomach, and you left your red jacket lying on the bed, replacing it with your new Chunin vest, which you left unzipped.

You checked the mirror and grinned. You wore your black ninja pants and blue ninja shoes with your blue cami and Chunin vest. You could see your necklace glinting on your neck and your fishnet was still wrapped on your arms with your headband tied around your waist.

You ran back out the door and straight to the dumpling shop where your team sat at a table at the far end. You made your way over there and sat across from Kozu.

He looked up and his mouth dropped.

"You got to be kidding me!" he said exasperated.

"Nope," you said letting the "p" making a popping noise.

You ordered your chichi dumplings while your team goggled at your vest.

"Congratulations, Kari," Akira said as Shiori nodded his head in agreement. Kozu was still staring.

"Shikamaru is one too," you said nonchalantly.

"What!? I thought he was that lazy kid!" Kozu said.

You nodded your head.

"You have to admit, his battle was pretty amazing," you said thoughtfully.

"Well, I think we should give you a toast, Kari! Ready boys?" said Akira.

You blushed as the boys raised their tea glasses and said "To Kari!"

You finished your meal with your team, teasing and talking like old times.

"Well, I'm gonna stop by the hospital and tell Sasuke. Maybe Naruto will be there and I'll tell him, too," you said as you rose. "See you around."

"Bye," the group answered.

* * *

You walked over to the hospital, wondering how your brother might react.

Suddenly you heard a large crash and you looked toward the roof of the hospital to see smoke plumes in the air.

You frowned and jumped up there to see both Naruto and Sasuke crouched in front of water towers. Naruto's had only a small hole in it, while Sasuke's was crushed.

Your frown deepened when you saw Kakashi and Sakura there as well.

"What the hell happened?" you demanded.

Kakashi turned to you and then glanced back at the two boys.

"I leave for an hour and they try to kill each other?" you asked.

Kakashi sighed and walked over to Sasuke.

Sasuke jumped away after a small glance in your direction, and a glare at your new vest.

"Sasuke," Sakura said softly.

You put your hand on the other kunoichi's shoulder, and she turned to you.

"Don't worry too much about Sasuke," you said. "He usually comes around."

She looked at you for a moment then nodded her head. Yet even as you walked to Naruto, you could hear her sniffling and crying.

You saw Kakashi jump away out of the corner of your eye, and you suspected that he had been talking to Jiraiya, since you could feel the Pervy Sage's chakra near the other water tower.

When you reached Naruto, he looked up at you slowly.

"Hey," you said.

"Hey," he replied warily.

"So what happened?" you asked.

Naruto shot you a glare then looked back down.

"Stay out of it. It's none of your business. This is between me and Sasuke," he said angrily.

You stiffened as Naruto looked back up.

You clenched your teeth together to stop from screaming.

"So its none of my business when my brother and my best friend try to kill each other?" you asked.

Naruto ignored your question. Your hand moved of its own accord, acting on your anger and hurt.

A sound of flesh on flesh was heard as you slapped Naruto's face. Naruto raised his hand to his cheek, but didn't say a word, nor did he look surprised.

As the tears started to gather in the corners of your eyes, you turned away from Naruto and jumped away. It was Sasuke's turn to tell you what happened and why.

* * *

You ran off in search of your brother. When you found him, he was sitting on a tree branch, thinking about something. You landed in front of him.

He glanced up at you, then after once again seeing your Chunin vest, he looked away.

"What's the matter, Sasuke?" you asked. "Talk to me, please."

His fists tightened and he shook with anger for some unknown reason.

"Why," he murmured. "Why is Naruto getting stronger and stronger while I just stay put? Why can't I beat him?"

His head jerked up and glared at you.

"And you!" he said. "Why do you always help him? You haven't trained with me since . . . then."

Your eyes widened.

"Sasuke," you said as you reached out your hand. He once again jerked away, leaving you to only answer his questions.

"Sasuke, you're not training the same way Naruto is," you started out. "Naruto trains to protect those he cares about. You're training to get revenge on Itachi."

Sasuke looked up to you as you continued.

"That's part of the reason I never train with you. That and the fact that you've never asked me."

"So," he said. "You want me to stop trying to kill the man that destroyed our lives?"

"That's not how I see it," you replied. "If instead of trying to hate Itachi to make your life better, why don't you try loving the people you have left. It works."

Sasuke was silent.

"I'm guessing that Kakashi-sensei already talked to you?" you said.

"Hn," he said in response.

"Sasuke, you're my brother. I love you and if anything ever happened to you, it would kill me," you said softly. "Promise me . . . You won't do anything stupid?"

Sasuke looked you in the eye and slowly nodded.

You returned the gesture and left Sasuke alone with his thoughts.

* * *

You went back home, and once again sat on your bed and looked at the picture frames. The picture of your family didn't show much, but when the picture had been taken, you and Sasuke had been holding hands. You wish the picture had shown that.

You sighed and looked out your window.

"A mission? Great," you muttered, disappearing and reappearing in front of the Hokage's Mansion. You walked inside and up the stairs to Tsunade's office and knocked on the door.

"Enter," a voice called, and you opened the door.

Tsunade sat at her desk, her elbows propped on the desktop and her hands folded in front of her face.

"Kari. I have a mission I need to get done. It won't take too long, especially if you do it. Ready for the details?"

"Hai," you said quickly. Anything to get your mind off of Naruto and Sasuke.

She briefed you and gave you the document that you were to deliver, and you left immediately.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed :) Please rate and review

~Kiri-chan


	21. An Assortment of Surprises

OK! If you don't want this to be the last chapter of this story then please take my poll! Its gonna help me write the next few chapters in this story and if no one takes the poll then I won't write the story . . . which is very sad because I love this story :( but it shouldn't be too hard considering how much traffic I get XD um. . . I'm gonna start writing my KisaxOC story so you'll still have something to read . . . cause i'm closing the poll around March ish. . . So poll! Pleasie!! Because of how much traffic I get, I'm going to set high expectations for the poll so PLEASE READ, RATE, REVIEW, POLL!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; only Kari and my other OCs

* * *

As you ran past the trees in the forest as quickly as possible, your mind drifted to what had happened earlier. You blinked back the tears that had begun to form in your eyes.

~I've never had a fight with Naruto . . .~

You were saddened by the fact that Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry was so intense that they were willing to hurt each other to see who was the strongest. Your fists clenched and you picked up the pace. The sooner you finished this mission, the sooner you could get back to Konoha and resolve all this.

* * *

You had completed your mission with relative ease and you were now on the return trip home. You had just stopped at a dumpling shop along the way and ordered chichi dumplings with a cup of tea.

You ate slowly and reached out your hand to grab your teacup. Your fingers stopped an inch away when you heard the sound of ceramic cracking. Your eyes scanned the cup and found a large crooked crack, snaking its way up the cup. A startled noise escaped your lips and you threw money down on the table before running to Konoha as fast as possible.

~ . . . A bad omen . . . This can't be good . . . Especially after what just happened between Naruto and Sasuke~

Your expression turned tense and worried, and you ran faster.

You sprinted into the village when you saw the looming gates of the Leaf. You ran to the Hokage's office, and opened the door. Kakashi was in the room, his hands pressed on the top of Tsunade's desk as he leaned forward.

"What did you say? You mean you sent Genin after Sasuke?" Kakashi said with a tone of worry in his voice.

You closed the door loudly behind you as you walked in. Kakashi turned his head, and Tsunade looked a little tense as well. Your eyes narrowed.

"Where's Sasuke?" you asked.

Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes.

"He ran away with a group of Sound ninja," she finally said.

Your eyes widened as you clenched your fists.

~He promised he wouldn't do anything stupid! ~

"And you sent Genin after him?" you asked.

"You know the state that this village is in right now," Tsunade replied.

Kakashi dropped his head and one of his hands slid off the desk to hang limply at his side.

"Anyway, I have a contingency plan in place," Tsunade continued.

Kakashi slowly turned and walked away.

"Hey, where are you going? I already have a mission for you!" Tsunade said.

"I have to go run an errand first. Be back in a bit, don't worry," Kakashi said as he walked out the door.

You stood in silence before looking Tsunade in the eye.

"This rescue team," you said slowly, "doesn't happen to have Naruto, does it?"

Tsunade's silence was all the answer you needed before you ran out the door to the Leaf's gate.

You heard a dog howl and you reached the gate in time to see Kakashi jump off while Sakura watched. You looked at the girl who knew Naruto and Sasuke as well as you did, and as a tear slid down both your face and hers, you nodded your head.

You jumped off, determined to follow Kakashi all the way to Naruto and Sasuke. You finally caught up with Kakashi's chakra and you kept with his pace.

"Go home, Kari. I've got this," Kakashi said.

"No," you said shaking your head defiantly.

Kakashi sighed and continued to run.

"What happened back at the hospital?" you asked suddenly. You felt as if it were important to know.

"Sakura said that Sasuke challenged Naruto, so they fought up on the roof. Eventually, Sasuke started up his Chidori, and Naruto his Rasengan. I had to intervene or they were going to hurt themselves and Sakura," Kakashi said.

You nodded your head, but your face grew somber. Sasuke hated it when his battles were interrupted. If he and Naruto were together right now . . . You shuddered and tried not to think about how they would fight.

You and Kakashi followed the dog-nin to the border at top speed. You suddenly felt a burst of chakra.

~Oh no. . . Naruto . . . Sasuke . . .~

Kakashi sped up, and you followed. It started to rain, and Kakashi asked the nin-dog if it would wash away the scent.

"No problem. We're already close enough," the dog replied.

You suddenly jumped forward, running as fast as you could in that same direction toward an opening in the forest. You jumped down the large cliff and landed on a ledge.

Naruto's unconscious body lay there, facing the sky. You ran forward and fell to the ground next to him, checking his heartbeat.

_Thu-thump . . . Thu-thump . . . Thu-thump . . ._

You sighed and looked him over. He had a hole in his jacket near the right shoulder, and you could imagine the scene. Sasuke using his Chidori to finish off his best friend, Naruto getting angry enough to summon the Fox's power and have his wound heal. Then Sasuke would have used his curse mark.

Sasuke. Where was he?

You looked to the other side, but saw no other limp figure, and the tears finally came. Sasuke, just like Itachi, had abandoned you.

Your tears mingled with the rain that fell, and you laid your head on Naruto's chest and began to sob. You stayed like that for a while, long enough for you to finally feel stiffness in your back and legs. Your sobs finally ceased, and you slowly raised your head.

You could feel Kakashi and Pakkun watching, but you kept your eyes on Naruto. You watched as a gloved hand placed Sasuke's scratched Leaf headband on Naruto's chest, and lifted him up.

You stood as well and you, Kakashi, and Pakkun jumped back to the top of the cliff, and while the dog and copy-nin conversed, you watched Naruto, who was now on Kakashi's back, begin to open his eyes.

You reached up your hand and placed it on Naruto's cheek, another tear trickling down your face. The rain finally stopped, and Pakkun spoke.

"The rain finally let up. I won't be able to track his scent. But keeping Naruto alive is more important than finding Sasuke," the nin-dog said.

~Even if we did find Sasuke, there's no way he'd let us take him back. He willingly went to that monster, he's made his choice~

You lowered your hand as Kakashi and Pakkun walked back to the forest. You cast one final glance in the direction of the Valley and stopped.

~ . . . That statue . . . looks familiar . . .~

You shook your head and followed Kakashi. Naruto was the priority now.

You had no idea that you were being watched, and as you left, the spy emerged from the ground with a sadistic chuckle.

"Things have taken an interesting turn, haven't they?" Zetsu said aloud.

"Indeed," his lighter half replied.

* * *

You jumped through the trees, staying close to Kakashi and Pakkun. Naruto finally woke up, and saw your tear-stained face.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto whispered. "Where's Sasuke?"

Konoha medics caught up before Kakashi could answer.

"Kakashi, what's Naruto Uzumaki's condition?" asked one of them as they jumped along with you.

"He'll pull through," Kakashi replied.

"And Sasuke . . .Sasuke Uchiha, what about him?" the medic asked.

Kakashi shook his head before asking how the other Genin were.

"Shikamaru Nara is fine with only minor injuries. Kiba Inuzuka's injuries are worse, but not life threatening," the medic replied.

Another medic spoke up.

"However, Choji Akimichi and Neji Hyuuga are both in critical condition. They could go either way."

Mixed emotions sped through you. Gratitude, worry, and . . . grief? The thought of Choji or even Neji as dead was impossible.

You shuddered.

~They risked their lives . . . for my brother~

You continued to run beside Kakashi, frequently glancing to the boy on his back. You followed Kakashi and the medics into Konoha and through the hospital halls. When they refused to let you into the healing room, Kakashi handed Naruto over to them and guided you to another hall.

"Can't they see? Naruto needs me! Now! He's hurt!" you cried as tears sprang out of your eyes once again.

"Kari, they're only doing their job. Calm down," Kakashi said as he leaned against the wall. You furiously wiped away your tears and then hit the wall next to the silver-haired Jonin. You walked away as Kakashi glanced at the good-sized dent inches away from his arm.

You made your way to the emergency room that Choji was in. You passed Shikaku Nara leaning against a wall and nodded your head in his direction as you passed. He sent a nod in your direction as well and ahead you saw Shikamaru facing you with his back to Temari and Tsunade who were sitting on benches.

Everyone's gaze turned to you as you approached the lazy genius.

"Shikamaru," you said softly.

"I'm . . . sorry, Kari," Shikamaru muttered as he looked down. You suddenly threw your arms around him and hugged him.

"Thank you, Shikamaru," you said as you held back the tears.

"You and the others . . . You risked your lives for my brother . . . To save him," you said slowly as you released his neck and stepped back. Your right hand grabbed your left arm as you looked away.

"Oh," he murmured.

You both stood in silence before Tsunade called out to you. You walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"Choji and Neji are stable. They're going to be all right," she said slowly.

You exhaled slowly and nodded. She glanced at your face.

"How's Naruto holding up?"

Your eyes narrowed.

"They won't let me see him," you scowled. Tsunade nodded her head and walked off.

"I'll go check on him. You'll be the first to know how he is," she called over her shoulder.

You sat in silence as Shikamaru and his father slouched away. You raised your eyes to Temari.

"_Anyway, I have a contingency plan in place."_

You raised your chin a little.

"So, you're the contingency plan?"

Temari shrugged.

"Gaara and Kankuro are here, too," she said.

"I guess I should thank you then, since you also risked your life for my brother," you mused. She raised an eyebrow as you stood. "If you could, would you thank your brothers for me as well?"

"Sure."

You nodded and made your way to Naruto's room. You stood in front of the door and took a deep breath before raising your hand to knock on the door. You slid open the door and peeked in to find Naruto watching the door expectantly.

His face was wrapped in bandages, as were his arms and hands. His cerulean eyes looked into your onyx orbs. The tears came once again, and you cried out.

"Naruto!"

You stepped forward and wrapped your arms around his neck, and cried.

"I'm sorry . . . so sorry . . ." you muttered.

"Kari-chan," Naruto replied.

You released his neck from your grasp and wiped your eyes dry.

"I . . . I couldn't . . . bring him back . . . I'm sorry . . ." Naruto said softly.

You looked to your friend in shock.

"Naruto," you said firmly. "Sasuke made his choice. You're safe now. That's all that matters."

Naruto locked eyes with you for a moment before looking down at his hands.

"I'll bring him back," he murmured.

You bit your lip to keep from retorting.

"Naruto," you began.

He met your eyes once again, sadness clouding out the usual brightness of his blue orbs.

"I just wanted to say thank you," you continued. "You risked your life, your dream, everything, to save Sasuke, my brother."

"He's my best friend. What else could I do?" Naruto muttered as he looked away.

You were caught off guard and you didn't reply. As Naruto gazed out the window, you reached out your hand to touch his. He felt your skin contact his and he returned his eyes to yours.

"Pervy Sage is gonna take me on a training journey," he said suddenly. Your eyes widened.

"When?"

Naruto shrugged.

"He said as soon as I get out of the hospital but I'm sure he'll put it off to do his 'research,'" he said.

"How long will you be gone?" you asked cheerfully. If Jiraiya was going to distract Naruto from Sasuke's absence then training was the perfect thing to do.

"Well," Naruto paused. "Three years."

Your mouth dropped open.

"Oh."

You both sat in silence. You broke it with a nervous laugh.

"Well, hey, you'll get a ton of training done and then you can get closer to your goal, right? Being Hokage, that's your dream right?"

Naruto didn't say a word. Your eyes dropped to the floor.

"I- I'll miss you."

Your head jerked up.

"I'll miss you, too, Naruto-kun," you said softly. You stood. "I- uh, I need to talk to Lady Hokage. I'll see you around, Naruto-kun."

"See ya later, Kari-chan."

* * *

In a dark cave in an unknown land, voices rang out as figures appeared.

"How long has it been since we've all come together like this?" a rough voice called out.

"Seven years. Not since Orochimaru left us. And now Orochimaru has the Sharingan," a husky voice said.

"Is that true, Itachi? Your little brother?" asked a deep voice.

Itachi in hologram form stood stoic and silent.

"I think his sister is even more of a threat now that she possesses the tessen," Kakuzu called out.

"You mean more of an ally. The tessen is destined to destroy Konoha. She would gladly help us, I'm sure," the deep voice spoke up again.

"Ha ha, she's a fiery little one," Kisame's rough voice said as he chuckled. "I'm sure it will take a lot of convincing, prophecy or not."

"Don't be impatient, hm. We'll deal with our old friend Orochimaru and the little tessen girl in time, hn. We have only three years in which to prepare and we all know what we need to do to be ready, right?" said a lighter voice as he chuckled evilly.

"Of course, no mistakes. Remember what we seek. Everything, including the Nine-Tailed Fox and the tessen's power," Leader spoke with a glint in his gray eye.

* * *

During your extended vacation, you trained long and hard with Shiori and Kozu to make up for the fact that Tsunade wasn't sending you on missions. The boys were as strong as you were and you knew that by the next Chunin Exams they would become Chunin easily.

A few weeks later, Tsunade called you to her office. When you arrived, she was standing with her back to you, looking out the window.

"The elders are a pain in the neck, trying to restrict all my decisions because it isn't what they want," she muttered. "All of my advisors report me to them as soon as they can and I get reprimanded. I am _the_ Fifth Hokage! And I _will _make my own decisions!"

You raised an eyebrow as she turned to you.

"Kari Uchiha. You will be trained as a spy and as a peace ambassador!"

"W-what?" you asked as a shocked expression flitted across your face.

Tsunade sighed.

"Konoha is still in repair. Most of the Jonin and Chunin are guarding the borders against attack. Suna is still recovering as well, but I want to guarantee their new alliance with us. I want you to travel with Konoha's peace ambassadors as they go to Suna and make peace. Learn from them. By next year I will have appointed you one as well, so learn fast."

"Why me?" you asked.

Tsunade locked eyes with you.

"You're an intelligent young lady who people will listen to because you speak maturely. Although you like fighting, war is not your style and you would prefer peace, correct?"

You nodded.

"As for you being a spy," Tsunade continued. "If you are trained as one then you can learn things that can benefit our village and our allies, thus strengthening our friendship. Also . . ."

She paused and lowered her eyes.

"You could find information on Akatsuki so we can hunt them down."

You were silent at these last words. You couldn't say no. The advantages of being a peace ambassador and a spy were endless. You would know everything about the politics and who was leader where and which country hated that one and which country needed an ally.

You nodded your head.

"When do I start?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the floor beneath her feet.

"Tonight," was all she said.

You stood in shocked silence as she continued.

"I know its short notice, but the group of ambassadors I'm sending to Suna is leaving tonight along with an undercover spy who will train you. For the next year you will be traveling with them from Suna to our other allies' villages and strengthen our alliances."

You remained silent as you remembered Naruto's words from a few weeks ago.

_"Pervy Sage is gonna take me on a training journey . . . Three years"_

Tsunade understood your hesitation. Naruto was on a mission now and wouldn't be back for days. If you left tonight you wouldn't be able to say good bye.

"I'm sorry but I've put off their deportation long enough," she said softly.

"Hai. I . . . I understand . . ." you said.

The Lady Hokage nodded and told you to be at the village gate at 11 o'clock sharp tonight.

You bowed and then left. You reached the Uchiha compound and quickly packed the essentials: clothes, money, some food, extra weapons, your fan cleaning kit, and the pictures of you with Naruto and you with your team. You grabbed a spare sheet of paper and wrote a letter to Naruto to leave at his house.

Team Akira was at the training grounds waiting for you to arrive. They saw your bag and nodded as you explained. As you hugged your teammates, Akira spoke.

"It seems like only yesterday when we walked into Lord Hokage's office and met you and now . . ."

You nodded as you hugged your sensei.

"I'm gonna miss you guys so much," you muttered. You looked them in the eyes. "You're my family."

They smiled as you turned around.

"Well, I hate good-bye's so . . . I'll see ya later."

You then jumped away from your team, from your old life, from the Leaf, and into the unknown.

* * *

IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE MEMO AT THE BEGINNING THEN GO READ IT NOW PLEASE!!!! THANKS YOUZ!!!

~Kiri-chan


	22. After Three Years

YAYZ! I finally updated! So I did what the majority of the people who voted in my poll wanted and I skipped the timeskip adventures and I might have some flashbacks to them if I feel like it :P I'm gonna close the poll and hopfully more people will read and review since I finally got this chapter out. I apologize for the shortness and how it kinda seems rushed. Mah bad . . . They'll get better! Promise! Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto . . . Only Kari and my other OCs . . .

_

* * *

_

Three Years Later

_

* * *

_

You knocked on the door and waited for the usual quiet reply. Your lips turned downward in a frown as you waited and no sound came.

"Kazekage-sama?" you said loudly. No reply came. You turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. The back of the chair behind the desk was turned to you and you called out once again.

"Gaara-kun?"

The clicking of your heels was the only sound heard as you made your way to the chair. Your hand reached out and turned it toward you. A small gasp escaped your lips as the chair revealed to be empty with only Gaara's white Kazekage robes lying in a heap on the seat.

A large explosion shook the room and caused you to stumble on your way to the window. Fire and smoke filled the sky above you. You jerked open the window and focused chakra on your feet. You pulled yourself out the window and started running up the side of the building.

The heels of your knee high boots clicked on the stone cold clay of the building and you slightly shivered as the cold air hit your bare arms and thighs. You wore a short black skirt with the Uchiha symbol in the middle of the front and a navy blue cami with fishnet arm warmers that went from your elbow up to your underarm. Fishnet also was wrapped around your thighs where the skirt was too revealing. The vermilion necklace was draped around your neck along with a thick black choker that held the chain of the red-orange stone in place.

As you approached the top of the building you pushed a little more chakra into the soles of your feet and jumped. You flipped through the air and landed right in front of Kankuro and Baki with your back to them.

"Kari?!"

You turned your head to the two Sand-nin.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" you asked.

Baki grimaced as he turned his head back up to the fight.

"Akatsuki," he said tossing you the binoculars.

You caught them, not really taking in the fact that you didn't need them to see the people above. You were too shocked that a battle between the Kazekage and the Akatsuki was taking place right above your head.

You slowly turned to the fight and raised the binoculars to your eyes. You saw Gaara's impassive face half hidden by the large spherical shell of sand surrounding him. Moving the binoculars to the left a ways, you caught sight of the albino bird. The figure sitting atop was wearing the black cloak with red clouds and was holding something made from the same substance it was sitting on. You raised the binoculars to view his face.

"Deidara of the Rocks," you muttered.

"Wha-?" a nin behind you exclaimed.

"He used to be a terrorist after he left the Village Hidden Among the Rocks. Bomb specialist. He's only nineteen and is obviously an S-class criminal being associated with Akatsuki. He manipulates clay with his chakra causing it to explode whenever he pleases," you recited from memory.

Kankuro cursed violently.

You tossed the binoculars back to Baki just as Deidara threw the object in his arms out into the space between Gaara and himself. Smoke surrounded it, but quickly faded revealing the object super-sized.

And then it started to fall.

You cursed.

Baki leaned forward on the railing in front of him and shouted out, "Everyone retreat!"

You heard a voice call out, "Katsu!" before all you could see was fire. Bright red-orange fire filled your vision completely as the inferno blew hot air in your direction sending your black hair flying behind you.

And then it died away. The flame went out with the smoke also fading. Your mouth dropped open at the sight before you.

Sand, Gaara's sand, formed a shield above the village, protecting the people in it from the explosion above.

You sighed in relief.

~Gaara . . . ~

Not even a second later, the area around Gaara's shell burst into flame.

"GAARA!" you shouted out simultaneously with Kankuro.

The smoke cleared quickly revealing Gaara completely covered in his shell of sand.

You turned to Baki.

"Launch the attack already! Gaara may hold Shukaku within him but by now he must be worn out!"

Once again you heard an explosion.

~You've _got_ to be kidding me!~

You turned back to see a battered Gaara barely standing on a platform of floating sand. You faintly heard Baki ordering the attack, but all you could see and focus on was your dear friend moving his hand in a beckoning motion, pulling the shield from earlier away from the village so it wouldn't be crushed. And for the first time in years, you saw Naruto's face, also battered and bleeding, protecting his teammates in the Forest of Death, protecting Tsunade from Kabuto, protecting his pride and his dreams from Neji, protecting, protecting, protecting . . .

Tears filled your eyes. And then the sand was out of the way and Gaara lost the last of his strength. He fell.

You leapt from your perch on the railing and jumped up toward your friend. You jumped off the tops of buildings towards the falling Sand-nin. You were so close . . .

Something roughly pushed you out of your path and onto a nearby rooftop. You caught yourself and quickly turned to see Deidara flying away with Gaara trapped in the clay bird's tail.

"Mission accomplished, un," you heard the man say as he flew toward the Village entrance.

"Oh, hell no! You're not getting away!" you shouted as you chased after the bird.

You came to a complete stop at the entrance as the bird descended.

~Shouldn't there be a unit guarding the entrance? Why's it so quiet?~

Kankuro and a group of Sand-nin landed beside you. Kankuro quickly voiced your thoughts. Kankuro started to walk through the entryway. You followed close behind. Dead bodies littered the ground.

You leaned over one and set two fingers on the corpse's neck. Cold.

"They've been dead a while," you informed the others.

"Looks like the ones who took Gaara passed through here without any trouble. Let's move," Kankuro said running forward.

Everyone followed quickly. Suddenly one of the nin called out.

"Hey! There's one alive here!"

"Stop!" you shouted just as Kankuro yelled, "Don't move him!"

An exploding tag on the man's chest went off starting a chain reaction of exploding tags set up on the walls around you. An arm wrapped around your waist and you felt yourself being pulled back and pushed together with two other bodies. You felt wood underneath your hands and realized Kankuro had summoned one of his puppets and shoved you, himself, and another Sand-nin into the hollow belly.

After a few minutes of the sound of rocks falling on top of you and your comrades, the noise stopped. Only the ragged breathing of the three people in the puppet could be heard. You heard more scuffling and the sound of rocks on wood. The sound stopped just as a square of light appeared above you and voices called out. Kankuro's form blocked the sunlight above you and arms wrapped around your waist. The puppet master pulled you out of his puppet and set you on a nearby rock as he reached back in for the Sand-nin.

You quickly got back up and turned toward the exit. You could see the end of the tunnel clearly from where you were standing and immediately you darted off, not even waiting for instructions from Baki or Kankuro. A voice called your name but you ignored it. You quickly reached the end of the tunnel but stopped suddenly. Several tracks led in many different directions.

You swore.

~If I use _that _then I'll be wasting chakra. And if these guys beat Gaara I'm gonna need all my chakra to stop them~

You examined the paths closest to you very quickly. You noticed that some lighter sand was sprinkled along one of the paths.

~Gaara's sand!~

You ran at top speed along that path, breathing through your nose to save energy. Along the way the path split again, but you quickly found Gaara's sand trail and sped up.

"Kari!"

Your eyes drifted to the right and you saw Kankuro running beside you barely keeping up with your speed. His eyes were narrowed in anger and rage and his face was twisted in a grimace.

~He really cares for his brother . . . . ~

You turned your eyes ahead once again. The sun was rising and it cast the shadow of two figures walking on the ground and a bird flying beside them in your direction.

The men stopped and half-turned to you and Kankuro.

"Give Gaara back!" shouted Kankuro.

The man that was crouched low to the ground turned his eyes to Deidara.

"You go on ahead, Deidara," he said in a low gravelly voice. And then the man was in the air, jumping forward. He landed with a loud _thump_ a few feet in front of you.

Kankuro acted quickly, pulling the scrolls that were strapped to his back out and rolling them out on the ground. He formed a seal and called out, "Crow! Black Ant! Salamander!"

Three large puppets appeared in a cloud of smoke and stood around Kankuro. You locked eyes with the crouched man and glared.

"Give Gaara back," you said plainly, though the men could hear the venom in your voice.

Deidara cocked his head to one side.

"Sasori-danna," he said. "That's-"

"I know, Deidara," Sasori said.

Deidara shrugged and jumped atop the bird that held Gaara in its tail. The bird began to fly away.

"You're sure as hell not getting away!" you shouted as you leapt toward the blonde. He slowly turned toward you, his eye opening wide. Something hard and cold wrapped around your waist and jerked you back.

You cursed as the wind was knocked out of your lungs. Your hands instinctively grasped the thing that held you. It was a metal tail. Your eyes followed the trail that led to Sasori below.

~What the hell!?~

"Kari!" Kankuro shouted.

You looked back toward Deidara to see him smirking at you.

Suddenly your vision was blocked by a triangular spike protruding from the tail. Purple liquid dripped from the tip of the spike.

~Poison!~

You squirmed a little bit.

"Stop moving. I won't kill you," Sasori said as he threw you back to Kankuro.

"Humph," you grunted as Kankuro stopped your fall. You heard the noise before you could react. You looked down at your arm to see a dart falling away from your skin. You blinked and the sight became blurry.

You slurred out a curse before everything went black.

* * *

Sorry . . . Its rushed and short I know please forgive me! *bows and apologizes repeatedly* Please review! It makes me update faster!

~Kiri-chan


	23. The Chase Begins

Sorry its been so long ^_^' here's the update . . . please review and thanks for reading

* * *

You felt your head pounding and a pain in your left arm. You started to open your eyes. A bright light blinded you for a few seconds and you quickly squeezed your eyes shut again.

"Damn, that's bright," you muttered.

"Hey! Haruno-sama! She's awake!"

You felt a chakra presence standing in front of you and you started to open your eyes again. Sea green eyes were examining you while pink hair fluttered around the face of the examiner.

"Sakura?" you asked.

The pink-headed kunoichi nodded and offered up a small smile.

"Its about time you woke up. We just got Kankuro in a stable condition, too. The poison in him was way more potent than the knockout poison you had in you. I can't believe you were out for three days though," she talked as she worked. Her hands felt your pulse; she listened to your heartbeat, and checked a number of other places.

When your mind finally processed Kankuro's name, you bolted up right and turned to your left. The puppet master was laying on a cot like yours. He was drenched in sweat and still breathing heavily.

"What happened to him?" you whispered.

"The man you two were fighting poisoned him like he did you. But what I can't understand is why he didn't give you both the same poison. Like I said earlier, yours wasn't fatal at all; it was more of a knock out drug," Sakura explained again. She turned to one of the Sand nin in the room. "You can bring them in now."

Something in your head clicked.

"Sakura, what are you doing in Suna?"

And then . . .

"Kari-chan! You're all right!"

You turned to see a flash of orange and hear a loud, "Ouch! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura was standing between you and an orange and black clad ninja with blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Naruto! She's still resting, you baka!" Sakura was yelling at him. But the boy's bright blue eyes were staring into your black orbs, and he was not listening to a word the pinkette was saying.

You slid off the cot and moved toward the boy. Sakura stopped yelling and moved out of the way as you stood in front of your best friend. You looked up into his bright blue eyes and- wait. Looking up?

Indeed Naruto was half a head taller than you.

"Damn," you said. "Naruto, you grew."

He blinked twice and then smiled while rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

"Yeah, I am pretty tall now, Kari-chan," he laughed.

You let out a small laugh and looked around the room. Sand nin stood around the room working on Kankuro. An old man and woman were staring at Sakura and speaking softly. Temari was slouched against the wall with a relieved look on her face. And right behind Naruto stood Kakashi Hatake.

"Good to see you, Kari," the Jonin said with a small wave.

"The same to you, Kakashi-sensei," you replied. You stood back with the other two and watched Sakura take control.

"Wow," you muttered. "She's really grown, ne?"

"Mm hmm," Naruto said as he nodded his head.

"So, what are you guys doing in Suna?" you asked again.

They were silent.

"Akatsuki has Gaara," Kakashi spoke. "We're the retrieval team."

Your eyes turned to Kankuro.

~We failed, Kankuro . . . but this time . . . we'll be ready . . .~

"I'm coming, too," you stated. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as we know where they are," Kakashi said plainly.

You nodded. Baki walked over with a scroll in hand. He held it out to Kakashi.

"What does Grandma Tsunade say?" Naruto asked.

"She sent Guy's team as reinforcements. They're on their way here," Kakashi answered.

"Oh . . . Bushy Brow's team," Naruto said. "I bet they've all gotten stronger. I heard Neji's even a Jonin now."

"Only after he heard I made Jonin before him," you scoffed. "You should have seen him race over to Tsunade-sama's office after he heard one of the Rookie Ten beat him to Jonin."

Naruto stared at you with his mouth open.

"You're a Jonin, too, Kari-chan?" he asked.

"Yeah for a little over a year now," you shrugged.

"How are Shiori, Kozu, and Akira?" asked Kakashi.

"Shiori's good. Became a Jonin about the same time Neji did. He's studying under Ibiki now. Intelligence and such," you said. "Kozu is still a Chunin but Tsunade is thinking about appointing him soon. He's been working with Akira-sensei on missions to get some experience."

"Baki-sama! Kankuro has regained consciousness!" a Sand nin called out.

You rushed over to the table Kankuro was lying on. The three behind you followed.

"Kankuro are you all right?" asked Temari as she leaned over him.

"Temari. You're back already?" Kankuro said slowly.

"I heard the village was in danger."

Kakashi turned to Baki while the siblings spoke.

"Take me to where Kankuro and Kari fought the Akatsuki. I may not look it, but I'm a pro at tracking. If I can only get a hold of their scent-"

"Don't bother," Kankuro cut in. He sat up slowly. "All of my puppets . . . They've been recovered, right?"

Some of the Sand nin brought in a tarp with pieces of Crow on it.

"Track Gaara's scent. If the two guys split up, then I can give you the other guy's scent, the one who didn't fight Gaara. I had Crow's hand take a piece of cloth from him," Kankuro said as Crow's hand opened revealing a small piece of cloth.

"You fight even when you're down. I expect nothing less from a Sand shinobi," Kakashi said as he grabbed the cloth.

Kakashi stood back and made some hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu!" he said as his hand hit the ground.

Smoke appeared but quickly ebbed away revealing Kakashi's Eight Ninja Dogs.

"Pakkun!" you practically squealed as you hugged the pug sitting atop the head of a big black bulldog.

"Kari," Pakkun wheezed. "I . . . can't . . . breathe . . ."

"Oh," you said as you released your hold on the dog. "Sorry, Pakkun."

You set the pug back on the bulldog's head and backed away. Kakashi held out the cloth in his hand for all the dogs to sniff. They jumped away in different directions as fast as they had been summoned.

"All right! We leave when Pakkun gets back!" Naruto said.

* * *

You sat by Kankuro's bedside as he slept. You had been working with the puppetmaster every time you entered Suna. He was your escort. Not that you needed one. It was protocol for Peace Ambassadors to have escorts when in other Hidden Villages. You had gotten to know Kankuro very well, as well as Gaara. Temari was often gone on missions similar to your own, but you had grown close to her all the same.

You watched Kankuro's face and his breathing. Just like when you sparred him, he was sweaty and breathing heavily.

You left him to rest and made your way down to the courtyard of the Kazekage Mansion. You saw a trail of dust in the distance running away from you. Your eyes narrowed. You glanced down and noticed little paw prints in the scattered sand.

~Pakkun. . . Kakashi must have sent him to tell Guy where to go . . .~

As much as you trusted Guy to keep his students safe, and although you knew Neji and Lee and Tenten to be skilled fighters, you worried.

~Kakashi will have Naruto, Sakura, and Temari with her small team. Guy might run into Akatsuki . . . and he only has two Chunin and one other Jonin . . . ~

You looked up to see Kakashi and Naruto staring out of their bedroom window at you.

~Naruto-kun~

You saluted to Kakashi before running off at the speed of light after his dog.

* * *

Yayz! Update XD and now I'm gonna go write the next chapter!!! Review please!

~Kiri-chan


	24. Gaara's Death

In honor of my laptop getting fixed and it being Fourth of July I have decided to start oneshot requests. If you want a oneshot about any characters from Naruto, Harry Potter, Twilight, or Inkheart, please request it and I would be glad to write it up for you :) If there is any other series that you want a oneshot on, you can ask me if I know it, and if I do I will write that as well, but if I am not familiar with the characters or the storyline, I won't write it. Go to my profile for the rules. :) Thanks and here's the update.

* * *

You had been following Pakkun's trail for a long time when you felt the powerful chakra presense.

~I know that chakra . . .~

A face popped into your head from three years ago. The fight in the hotel. You, Sasuke, Naruto, and Jiraiya against two Akatsuki. Itachi and Kisame.

The face of the latter was pale blue, chiseled into a firm jawline and his black eyes held a pale yellow gleam. Black marks covered his eyelids and made gill-like marks under his eyes.

The memory was clear as day, Kisame's questions and comments cemented into your mind.

_"Well, well, if it isn't the girl from before. You never did tell me who she was, Itachi-san," he said with a smirk that revealed his shark-like teeth._

_"Is she your sister?" Kisame continued. "It seems you're going soft. You kill your whole clan with the exception of your younger brother and sister."_

_"I'm interested," he began as he cocked his head to one side, his gaze still focused on you. "What would an Uchiha, a fire style clan, do with a battle fan? Aren't they used for wind element jutsu?"_

_"No answer? Well then, it looks like I'll force it out of you!" he said as he raised his katana and brought it down on you._

His chakra had been an amazingly large amount then, and as you got closer, you could feel that it had by no means diminished over the years. You could feel the rest of Team Guy's chakra as well. Tenten, Lee, and Neji were solitary, but Guy's chakra was jumping eratically all over the place. You stopped momentarily and strategized. Tenten, Lee, and Neji must be trapped or unconscious. Guy would then be attacking Kisame. You reached into your weapons pouch and grabbed a bunch of kunai knives with exploding tags attached to them. You continued to run toward the fight, prepared to be a distraction for Guy.

You entered the area to be surprised by the huge amount of water covering the desert. However, your attention was immediately drawn to a fiery fisted Guy punching and kicking someone in an Akatsuki uniform. Your jaw droppped.

~Is that? . . . Guy's Morning Peacock? That means . . . ~

And instantly, Guy kicked his opponent to the watery depths. The water level started to lower as Guy returned to normal. You joined the group as they gathered around the body of the Akatsuki member.

"Damn, I missed all the fun," you muttered as they all looked upon the face that was certainly not Kisame Hoshigaki. You chose to leave Guy in confusion as he wondered how the man knew so much about him and even seemed to have fought him before. You knew of Guy's problem with connecting faces and names of people to events of the past.

The group stared at the body a while longer before Neji asked what you were doing following them.

"I came as voluntary back up. I had no idea that you would be facing an imposter Akatsuki, otherwise I would have gone with Team Kakashi's group. Had you been confronted by two Akatsuki, I thought you might need some help."

They nodded in silent agreement before Pakkun started to lead the way again.

Guy's breathing was heavy and loud as he struggled to keep up.

~That technique . . . is not to be used lightly~

When Guy's head smashed into a branch, Neji suggested we take a break, and camp was quickly set up. You volunteered to take first watch and allowed the others to get some rest. It was late into the night.

After Guy woke up a small amount of time later, the rest of the team assured Pakkun they were ready and the group set off. Finally, when morning approached, you reached a small river. A large boulder marked the entrance to the cave, and upon in rested a sort of exploding tag.

Kakashi's team arrived seconds later, and you were surprised to see an old woman in the place of Temari and her team of Sand nin.

"The inside is wide and spacious but I can't get a good image of what's in there," Neji said when he acivated his Byakugan. "It seems there are some people."

"Neji, where is Gaara?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"I'm looking," the young Jonin replied.

"Neji!" Naruto said as he shook Neji's shoulder. "Where is Gaara?!"

"What- What is that?" Neji said suddenly.

Naruto started shaking Neji again.

"Neji! What is it? What's wrong? What do you see?"

"Let go," Neji said to Naruto. Naruto backed away.

"What did you see, Neji?" you asked.

"Its hard for me to explain," he said. Lee and Tenten nodded.

"That means . . ." Tenten began.

"We will have to see for ourselves," Lee finished.

Guy jumped away and prepared to attack the boulder. He let out a yell as he ran at it and hit it with all his might. The rock did not break, though a barrier was seen, pulsing rings around the spot where Guy had punched it, much like when a pebble falls into the water and creates rings.

The old woman and Kakashi examined the seal on the boulder for a few seconds.

"A five seal barrier, isn't it?" Kakashi asked.

"I agree," the woman nodded.

"That means that there are four more around this area and they all need to be removed at the same time," Kakashi continued. "Neji."

"Hai," said Neji. He activated his Byakugan and began searching.

"I've found them! One's on top of a boulder, about 500 meters northeast of here. . . The second one os on a tree trunk in a gorge, about 350 meters south-southeast. . . The third one is on a cliffside, 600 meters to the northeast. . . And the last one is in a forest almost 800 meters southwest of here."

"We can use these wireless radios to signal when to pull the seals. The transmission can cover those distances," Guy said as he pulled some out of his pack.

Guy's team decided that they would take care of the seals and they quickly went out and searched for them.

Sakura was chosen to break the boulder as the signal to enter the cavern.

"Sakura-chan, you get all the fun," you muttered. She smiled quickly in response before getting into position.

Naruto and Chiyo moved to stand on either side of the boulder, and you joined Naruto while Kakashi positioned himself above the seal.

Kakashi pullled the seal and Sakura punched the boulder. This time the rock crumbled as Kakashi moved to stand near you and Naruto and Sakura joined Chiyo.

At Kakashi's signal, the group jumped into the entrance. Kakashi and Naruto stood on the right while Chiyo and Sakura stood on the left. You stood in the center of the entrance, frozen at what you saw.

~Gaara-kun . . .~

Gaara's unmoving body lay on the ground, and on top of him sat the blonde Akatsuki from before, Deidara. Your anger rose.

You could feel Naruto shaking next to you as his anger was unleashed.

"You bastards! I'm gonna kill you!" he shouted. His eyes had already turned red and it appeared that he had fangs. The marks on his face became deeper and more noticeable.

You quickly glanced at your friend, worry filling your eyes.

He was yelling at Gaara, telling him to stand up.

You bit your lip.

"You should know," Deidara said with a smirk on his face. "He's been dead for a while."

He lifted his hand and gently slapped Gaara's face with the back of his hand.

"Don't touch him!" you shouted.

Deidara glanced at you for a second before turning his eyes back to Naruto. Naruto had started to charge, but was quickly stopped by Kakashi. You heard the two Akatsuki arguing in low voices.

~Are they . . . arguing about art?~

Naruto became angry once again.

"Stop messing with us, you bastards!"

He pulled out a scroll and from it he summoned a giant shuriken, which he threw at Sasori. You narrowed your eyes. As you suspected, the long metal tail quickly flew out from beneath the cloak and deflected the shuriken easily.

Everyone stood in shock. You could hear their thoughts. _How did he block the shuriken without even looking at it?_

Deidara stood and threw a small clay figure into the air. In a plume of smoke, it enlarged and landed behind Deidara. To your rage, it took Gaara in its beak.

As Sasori moved his poisoned tail toward Deidara, the latter jumped into the air with his clay bird and landed on top of it. Deidara glanced down at Naruto, then flew out of the cave with Gaara. You quickly jumped after him.

"Kari! Get back here!" shouted Kakashi. "Naruto!"

You felt outrageous chakra behind you and turned to see Naruto following your lead in chasing Deidara. Soon Kakashi was following, too.

~I hope Sakura and Chiyo can take on Sasori~

And the chase continued.

* * *

Ok so it was short, I'm sorry :( but an update is an update, ne??? Please consider requesting a oneshot! And review! Thanks :)

~Kiri-chan


End file.
